Dancing Before the Music Starts (Alti Returns 2)
by DJ Dubois
Summary: Alti attacks the O' Connells back in 1930s Egypt forcing Dave, Xena, Cybelle and Gabrielle to go back and fight Alti. (Please read & review)
1. Dancing Before the Music Starts Part 1

xover: Dancing Before the Music Starts  
By David J. Duncan  
July 2001  
  
Rating: R (probably closer to TV-14) for swearing, fight scenes.  
  
Feedback: Would love it! Send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com  
  
Archive: I give permission for this story to be archived at all relevant sites.

Thanks to Jenieve, Judy, and Kathy for their beta-reading!   
  
Note 1: Nick, Natalie, Schanke, LaCroix, and Alyce are characters from "Forever Knight". Xena, Gabrielle, Eli, the Amazons, the Archangels Michael and Raphael, Alti, and Eve are all from "Xena Warrior Princess" which is under Renaissance Studios and StudiosUSA and was created by Rob Tapert and John Schulian. Rick, Evelyn, Ardeth Bey, Jonathan, Alex, Imhotep and the characters from "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns" belong to Universal. All other characters are mine and of my own creation. All characters are fictious.  
  
Note 2: As in Part 1, The chronology of the Xena tie-in may be too late for "canon", but it ties in with the rest of the Dubois Chronicles. For those who wish to brush up on them, go either to my "Story Emporium" site (http://Dante_6.tripod.com/stories/emporium.html) or (http://dante6.fanspace.com/dubois/emporium.html ). Thanks for your interest and of course, comments are welcome!  
  
  
Prologue (Amazon lands--80 AD)  
  
Gabrielle, Bard-Queen of the Amazons, writes....  
  
In the years immediately following my coronation, prosperity blossomed through the Amazon nation. It was during this time that my closest friend and council, Xena, undertook an expedition back to Thebes. Sailing down the Nile brought back memories both good and bad...of battles, and also the great clash with Alti, the exile from the tribes and shamaness of the steppe. With the help of three travellers from Philae, we defeated and imprisoned her for all time....  
  
The priestess for Isis readily escorted us down to the chamber. Standing guard against all comers, Anubis barred the path to his prisoner.  
  
"You see?" Ack-Mun, the priestess, stated. "All is as you left it."  
  
"How about Cleopatra's necklace?" Xena demanded, albeit more testily than she might have.  
  
"It is still in the sacred vault," the guide explained. "Never again will it touch the crypt."  
  
"One can only hope," the Warrior Princess sighed.  
  
"And what else would you ask of me, Queen of the Amazons?" the priestess inquired, turning back to me.  
  
"Just to allow a supplemental blessing on the tomb," I replied, producing several charms and placing them about the doorway so as not to disfigure the hieroglyphs.  
  
While I was putting these defenses up, Xena told me later that she had a vision. Despite all of the careful measures which we had taken, the tomb would be opened by a woman at a future point in time throwing everything off balance. As a result, our friends, David and Angela Dubois, would have to involve themselves in the fracas directly in our behalf....  
  
"I can only hope she stays put," the warrior muttered to herself. "Eli, let it be so."  
  
Overhearing her plea, I looked up at the heavens and made a similar request, knowing that we and our friends would be involved. This is the scroll telling of the incident and the meeting with allies both old and new.....  
  
  
Chapter 1 [Thebes 1937]  
  
The ruined temple of Thebes, despite the ravages of time, still managed to keep most of its secrets from the modern world. Archaeologists had wandered through the labyrinthian passageways of its catacombs to little avail for a century.   
  
At present, a lanky young man with jet-black hair and very fair skin stumbled along through the mid-level passages. Lorenzo Alvaro, a relatively new graduate from the University of Florence, was the acknowledged expert on the upper passages of this place. Now, as rumors and the hieroglyphs above had indicated, there was more to be had further ahead, and the junior professor pushed onward. Supposedly, the tomb of a very important person was located at the bottom of this maze.   
  
"Madonna!" he sighed, looking again at the rough map dating from 1875. Supposedly, the explorer, Richard Gladmore, had walked these passages yet the map was full of errors. Hallways on the map equaled dead ends and, as in the present case, a hall where a dead end should have been. Holding his torch up, he saw only inky blackness. Throwing caution to the wind, he kept going.  
  
*********************************  
  
Five levels above their exploring comrade, Richard and Evelyn O' Connell worked in the treasury room dusting off artifacts and wall designs. Despite the disasterous flooding of the area four years earlier, they had found more items of use particularly this chamber and its store of artifacts.  
  
"Great, we're back in Imhotep's joint again. I wish for once that Evy could study someone else's stuff," Rick O' Connell groused to himself while giving a cursory scan of the wall paintings. Although not a gifted Egyptologist like his wife, the former French Legionnaire was not about to let her stumble into yet another Earth-shattering mess as on their last trip into this pile of granite. Therefore, they had left their precocious 10-year-old son, Alex, and their brother-in-law, Jonathan Carnahan, outside so that they might focus on their work.  
  
Still, the chamber seemed familiar to him...as if he had been in it before. It had seemed that they had found it too easily just three days earlier and now, he was getting the most incredible feeling of deja-vu. For a split second, he saw the room lit up in a golden light and he was with several women discussing something about sealing a witch up for all time. Then, he forced himself back to reality.  
  
"Get a grip on yourself, O' Connell," he admonished himself. Still, he had to wonder if Evy felt the same way during that Scorpion King mess. Suddenly getting concerned, he decided to check on his beautiful wife.  
  
******************************  
  
Across the chamber, Evelyn smiled wider than the Cheshire Cat at a tea party. Her late father, in addition to his activities in the Valley of the Kings, had labored on the initial in-depth excavations here before King Tut's curse ended his life. Enamored by the secrets of this place, he was determined to ferret them out. Now, with a few brush strokes, she may have done so. "Rick! Rick! I found it!" she called.  
  
He ran over and asked, "Found what?" In the flickering torchlight illuminating the area, he saw her dark black eyes sparkle, a bright white smile, and that familiar giddy expression on her face telling him one thing: Pandora had found yet another box to open. "Damn!" he hissed low.  
  
"What was that, Dear?" she wondered.  
  
He knew this was going to be trouble, but managed to keep a straight face. "Oh nothing, Evy. What did you find?" he inquired.  
  
"Here's the treasury vault!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.  
  
"Treasury vault? So, why didn't we find this on our last trip here?" he probed.  
  
She pouted, "Because, we weren't looking for it then, Silly! Now, we've found it!"  
  
He sighed and figured now was as good a time as any to ask the inevitable question, "So, what's the catch?"  
  
"The catch?" she asked perplexed.  
  
"Yeah, you know...the acid bath, Nile floods, spear-bearing Pygmies?" he noted.  
  
"Oh, Rick. You're such a worrywart. Now, open it," she insisted, overriding his objections.  
  
He shrugged. "Oh well, might as well get this over with," he thought and, taking the prybar, forced the door open. Inside, the vault gleamed with many artifacts inlaid with gold and jewels. Papyrus rolls lined the shelves. Finally, a series of jars were arranged along the far wall.  
  
Evy's smile widened even more. Here was the result of her father's hard work! At least many of these pieces would get a good home in the British Museum, and she would have yet another pin to jab at the Bembridge Scholars.  
  
However, like her husband, she sensed a strange tie to this area. "Of course, Nefertiri had been through here!" she reminded herself, remembering the identity from her previous incarnation during the Old Kingdom. "But, this is a new feeling," she thought, feeling a mysterious tug from across the room. Going with it, she shuffled toward the source.  
  
This activity started to unnerve Rick. "Honey?" he pushed.  
  
"I...I have the strangest feeling and it's tied to this box," she explained, pointing to the little cedar chest in front of her. "It's almost as if..."  
  
"Maybe we should...." he started, feeling really nervous by now.  
  
She placed her thumbs on the twin locks and pressed down. With a "snap-hiss", they opened, revealing a beautiful golden necklace with a rich sapphire at its center.  
  
"So, what is it?" he asked pensively.  
  
"If we can believe the hieroglyphs, it is the necklace of Nefertiri...At one time, this was hers. Seti had it made especially for her...." she noted, lifting it out of the box and admiring its quality and beauty. As she did so, she saw a vision.  
  
**********************************  
  
Evy was back in antiquity, but not as Nefertiri nor in the Old Kingdom. Somehow, she sensed that these were Roman times. Looking about the room, she saw two men next to her. Across the chamber were four women, a priestess of Isis, a raven-haired warrior, another woman of medium build with bobbed blonde hair, and a fourth with long brown tresses.  
  
The Isis priestess looked at all of them and said, "We must guard this secret carefully...carefully...carefully."  
  
*********************  
  
Then, she came to and saw Rick standing beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked concernedly.  
  
"I'm having the weirdest feeling," she complained.  
  
"Like you've been here before, right? I've been feeling the same way. Listen, it's 5:30, and I think we need a break. Besides, Larry's going to be surfacing from the catacombs soon," he mentioned.  
  
"All right," she nodded. "I want to check on Alex in any event."  
  
He smiled and escorted her toward the entrance knowing that, for the night at least, the world disaster was postponed....  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Jonathan Carnahan fidgeted as he read through a cheap dime store novel. "Bloody figures," he complained. "They get to look in the temple, and I get babysitting duty again! How's a fellow supposed to make his fortune? Then again, it is safer out here."  
  
Suddenly, a ten-year-old blonde boy ran up to him and tapped him on the arm. "Hey, Uncle Jon. We'd best get a fire started, don't you think?" he suggested.  
  
"Right on, Alex," the elder man agreed, meandering toward the wood pile. Selecting a few choice pieces of scrap, the adventurer had a fire going in no time at all. "I say, that does look cozy," he commented.  
  
"Absolutely, Jonathan," Lorenzo agreed as he sat down nearby. "It looks great, thank you!"  
  
Jonathan examined his sister's junior colleague from the British Museum. Dr. Alvaro seemed the mousy type with his stick-like frame and big eyes behind those round spectacles. But, a fire burned in his craw and a determination to discover the wonders of the ancient world; be they from Egypt, Greece, the Celtic fringelands, or the Steppe. It was no wonder that Evy had taken this fellow under her wing during the past three years after he had arrived from Florence. "So, did you find anything?"  
  
The young prof looked at him curiously, "Excuse me?"  
  
"Did you find anything?" Jonathan repeated the question.  
  
"Oh, a few new passages is all. Nothing too exciting," he chuckled, knowing his friend's fascination for the treasures of antiquity. "Your sister and brother-in-law are the ones with all of the treasure, I'm afraid."  
  
"That's too bad," Jonathan sighed disappointedly.  
  
"Tomorrow's another day, Uncle Jon!" Alex assured his uncle. "Isn't that right, Mr. Larry?"  
  
"As usual, you're right on the mark, Alex," Lorenzo remarked, filling his pipe with cherry wood tobacco and lighting it. No matter how often he had talked to the boy during the latter's frequent expeditions through the museum, the professor was still amazed in his knowledge and insight. He would make a fine archaeologist one day....  
  
"Now, Alex, don't bother Dr. Alvaro. I'm sure he's tired from his explorations," Evy informed her son.  
  
Lorenzo smiled, "Now, Evelyn, the boy's curious, and I'm glad to answer his questions. Think nothing of it."  
  
"Are you sure?" Rick pursued.  
  
Taking a puff from his pipe, the young professor nodded, "Absolutely. Now, take a seat and let's relax."  
  
The O'Connells nodded and sat next to him. After their own activities, they were glad to rest as well.  
  
"So, what did you find down there?" Rick probed, dreading any new surprises.  
  
"I blew a few more holes in that old map," Lorenzo laughed and took out his large white pad and began to sketch out his progress during that afternoon. "You know where that dead-end's supposed to be down Hallway #9?"  
  
"There isn't one, right?" Evy jumped in.  
  
He shook his head. "It turns out that Hallway #8 is the dead end and Passage #9 is a long tunnel. I followed it for a ways, but had to quit after about 45 minutes," he explained.  
  
"And you didn't see anything ahead of you?" Rick inquired.  
  
"Nothing," the other man replied honestly. "How did you make out?"  
  
"We found the sacred vault this afternoon," Rick explained.  
  
"And I found the Necklace of Nefertiri!" Evy exclaimed, holding up her golden prize so that it gleamed in the setting desert sun.  
  
That sight definitely attracted her brother's attention. "My Word! That's beautiful. It looks like pure gold!" he gasped, instantly calculating its potential value in his head.  
  
"It is," Lorenzo stated matter-of-factly and turned to his colleagues. "My friends, that cliches it! The rumors are true....We must be careful."  
  
"Of what?" Rick inquired.  
  
"In the catacombs below, legend has it that there is a special tomb...," their colleague continued.  
  
"So, who's in there?" Evy pushed eagerly.  
  
"Nobody knows for sure. In the Caucasus, the Amazons spoke of a great figure who was imprisoned there. According to the scrolls that I examined, there is one who was cast from their nation and finally set inside of a prison with that necklace. The jewel is the key."  
  
Rick shook his head. Why him? It figured that she had dragged him on another joyride down the Nile with a curse at the end. And now, these dreams were bugging him as well....  
  
"If I were you, I would leave this place," a familiar voice echoed toward them on the wind, affirmed with conviction.  
The group saw a familiar bedouin riding toward them clad all in black. As he drew closer, the markings on his face, his ebony beard, and determined manner marked him as their friend and comrade in arms, Ardeth Bey.   
  
"And a jolly hello to you too, Old Boy," Jonathan groused, stirring the sauce which was reheating in the soup pot over the fire.   
  
Lorenzo tensed, "Who?"  
  
Evy sighed, "Forgive my manners, Lorenzo, this is our good friend, Ardeth Bey, leader of the Mai-Jai. Ardeth, this is my associate, Dr. Lorenzo Alvaro."  
  
The young professor jumped to his feet and shook Ardeth's hand. "You're the one who helped them in the museum, aren't you? It happened just before I got there, but I heard all about it and the disappearance of the curator."  
  
The Mai-Jai leader exchanged looks with his friends. Apparently, the young man had all of the facts that he needed, at least for now. "Yes," he continued. "Be glad that you weren't there that evening, My Friend. It was a very strange time...my first bus ride in fact."  
  
Rick and Evy glanced at each other. Suddenly, they remembered the events of that evening. The attack on the manor, the museum skirmish, and the wild bus ride/mummy fight through downtown London, the East End, and across Tower Bridge. "Yeah, that was some evening all right," Rick affirmed while casting anxious glances at his wife and son.  
  
"Well, are you hungry, Ardeth?" Lorenzo asked. "There's plenty in the pot." He checked the cooking liquid which bubbled up perfectly. "By the way, Jonathan, did you boil up that pasta?"  
  
"I sure did," Jonathan noted. "It's in the jar over there."  
  
"Ah, fantastico!" the eager cook exclaimed. "Grazi!" He lugged the two foot tall container over by the fire and poured the contents of the pot over the macaroni.  
  
Evy shook her head in admiration. In the three years that they had been working together, she had marveled at how this man could make a wonderful meal so easily, even in the most unlikely of places. "It smells wonderful," she complemented.  
  
"Well, it's not quite up to Mama's standard," he sighed. "But hey, out here...it'll have to do." Laddeling out a helping into a tin plate, he handed it and a fork to his new Arab friend. "I hope you like it, my friend."  
  
The bedouin chieftain took a forkful of the pasta and tasted it. "This is delicious," he commented. "Thank you."  
  
"My pleasure," Lorenzo replied pleasantly and served everyone else before giving himself a portion and pouring some water into a little tin cup for himself. "May I ask a question, Ardeth?"  
  
The chieftain nodded, "Certainly."  
  
The younger man smiled and continued, "Who exactly is in that crypt? This is supposed to be a holy place and yet, I've read works written between here and Soviet Russia telling me that there is something down there which should never see the light of day."  
  
The Arab nodded and indicated, "That is correct. Although, the name of the Accursed has been blotted out of historical memory, the need to keep things as they are is very necessary here."  
  
"Figures," Rick mumbled to himself.   
  
"So, why wasn't this person buried at Hamunaptra?" Evy inquired.  
  
"Because of Imhotep, I imagine," Lorenzo interjected.  
  
Ardeth's eyes narrowed as he reaccessed the junior professor. The man certainly knew the situation that he was dealing with. Granted, he lacked a few key answers to important questions, but he was moving toward them and, in a cautious manner. That was a quality he hoped would wash off on Evelyn. "Yes, I would imagine that they were separated because of the Creature's power," he agreed.  
  
"Have you heard anything more about this person, Mr. Larry?" Alex jumped in.  
  
"Only that she was a great terror...a demon. She was defeated by two warriors. Xena of Amphipolis, the so-called Warrior Princess and Gabrielle of Potadeia, later queen of the Amazon Nation," Lorenzo reported.   
  
"So, they were real," Evy shook her head. "I thought they were something a bothered doctoral student dreamed up."  
  
"Just like your Scorpion King, remember?" Rick gently chided her. "Before we found those items, he was just a myth too."  
  
"I suppose," she yawned. "Oh goodness! Please excuse me. It's been a long day." Then, she stood up. "I suppose it's time for Alex to be getting ready for bed."  
  
That comment made the boy squirm. "Aw, Mum! It's only 8:30!" he complained.  
  
"Yes, it is...and it is your bedtime," she directed.  
  
"I guess..." Alex relented and hugged his father. "'Night, Dads."  
  
"Night, Gunga Din," Rick smiled and returned the embrace. "See you in the morning."  
  
"Right," the boy agreed and added, "Good night, everyone."  
  
The remaining men smiled at Alex and nodded as the boy went off with his mother. Then, they resumed the conversation.  
  
Rick turned back to his wife's associate and probed further. "And that's all you know?"  
  
"Si. That's it," the Luccese man agreed.  
  
Ardeth scratched his beard. Once again, the threat of something terrible lurked beneath the sands...just waiting for the O' Connells to unleash it once again. And there would be nothing that he could do about it. Nothing at all...  
  
(to be continued)  
Please send questions and comments to dante0220@yahoo.com .  



	2. Dancing Before the Music Starts Part 2

xover: Dancing Before the Music Starts  
David J. Duncan  
July, 2001  
  
For notes & such, please see Part 1  
  
Chapter 3  
  
That night, Ardeth Bey tossed and turned in his tent. His head was filled with strange visions and dreams of a time long ago.  
  
**********************************  
  
He saw himself talking to a tall woman dressed in leather and minimal armor. Her companion, a mediumly built lady was outlining a strategy of some kind which he couldn't quite make out. Then, mounting a horse, he took off in a roundabout fashion across the desert. Why? For ten minutes, he only saw the shifting sands. Finally, he rode up behind a shelter made of animal hides.  
  
"Is she here?" he heard himself say. Leaning close to the wall, he heard chanting and realized, "Xena's daughter! It has to be her!" With that, he cut a hole in the side of the shelter and crawled inside to find an attractive woman of fair skin and long brown hair bound inside.  
  
"Who are you?" the captive inquired.  
  
"My name is Antonius and I am here to rescue you," he heard himself state. "Now, come, your mother and Gabrielle are outside...fighting the witch. I must get you to safety." With that, he cut the ropes at her wrists and ankles and helped her out the "back door". Once there, they climbed on his steed and rode away toward the rendezvous point, knowing that the battle was about to click into high gear....  
  
****************************  
  
At that point, Ardeth stirred from his sleep and muttered, "Allah be merciful." Then, he collapsed back into a nervous sleep.  
  
******************************  
  
Meanwhile, on the other side of the camp, Rick was having problems as well. In his vision, he watched a dark robed swarthy companion named Antonius ride off into the desert to rescue someone. Then, he stood by his other companion, a young woman named Cleopatra whom he loved desperately. Somehow, he wasn't surprised that she had Evy's face.  
  
"What are our odds?" he asked her.  
  
"What does it matter as long as we're together?" she informed him. "Now, stay close and be ready. I will need your strength."  
  
In front of them, three figures were dancing a deadly pirouette of steel and fisticuffs.  
  
About ten minutes into the battle, Cleopatra stepped forward and exposed her necklace's jewel to the sun, causing it to glow brightly. "Hold me up, please, Claudius!" she implored him.  
  
He readily complied and felt a burning sensation as the sun's rays were collected in the jewel's facets. Then, the energy was released, and he heard screaming. For several long minutes, the protests continued, and then all was silent....  
  
"Now, we must hurry. She will be unconscious long enough for us to get her to Thebes, but we shouldn't tarry here," Cleopatra directed.  
  
With that, the group started off for the temple even as Rick started to stir from his reverie. Looking around, he saw Evy's slumbering form and heard Jonathan's snoring coming from across the campsite.  
  
"Now, what have you gotten us into, Evy?" he worried, falling back onto his sleeping bag and into a fitful sleep.  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
By 9 AM, the trio of archaeologists had returned to the temple. As they prepared to split up and follow up on their earlier work, Rick tapped Lorenzo on the arm. "Now, if you find anything, Larry...come and get us, OK?" he insisted.  
  
Given his associates' history with this place, he nodded, "Fine with me. Good luck, you two."  
  
With that, he disappeared into the shaft which was Hallway # 9.  
  
Evy turned to her husband, "I hope he'll be okay."  
  
He rubbed her shoulder and reassured her, "I'm sure he'll be fine. Now, let's see what else we can dig up in the treasure room...."  
  
  
*****************  
  
For hours, Lorenzo eased his way carefully down the narrow passageway. With only his torch to guide him, he trudged ahead, staring at the strangely blank walls and thinking that it would be odd not to see hieroglyphs in a hallway related to a temple of this sort.  
  
"It's almost as if they didn't want anyone to know that this place was here," he thought and kept going. Finally, he came up against a solid barrier...a wall of some sort.   
  
"Well, about time that the passage came to an end," he huffed and scribbled some notes in his journal. Then, he beheld that the wall in front of him was covered in spider webs. This fascinated him because nowhere else in the passage had there been a single shred of the silky substance. "Fascinating. I wonder if...?" he started and cleared away the cobwebs to find a door. But the painting on the door froze him in his tracks, making his eyes bulge, and his jaw drop in wonder. "It's real!" he exclaimed. "It's really here!" Even as he said this, he remembered Rick's request. "I have to get them! Evelyn will be so excited!" Turning, he rushed as quickly as he could up the passage and to the rooms above.  
  
*******************  
  
Two hours later, Rick stood in the main chamber of the temple, or rather, what was left of it after their previous adventure here. The pillars still lay in a jumbled mess. The walls were washed clean by the torrent which had nearly killed him and Evy, depositing them almost in the exact place where he now stood.  
  
"It's really too bad," he sighed to himself. "What a waste."  
  
Just then, the former adventurer heard hurried footsteps and the dim echoing of somebody yelling. "I hope Larry's okay," he wondered and, after walking over to the passageway's entrance, waved his torch in the darkness and bellowed, "Larry!"  
  
"Rick!" his friend's voice called back. "Find Evelyn! We must tell her...about the...door."  
  
The ex-legionnaire drew one of his trusty pistols. Despite the fact that the young professor sounded okay, it was better to be safe than sorry, especially given their history with this place and its builder.  
  
Lorenzo spilled into the room, doubled over from lack of breath. Obviously, he had been dashing for the surface with everything he had and was huffing and puffing for breath. "Whew!...Made it!"  
  
"Are you sure you're okay?" Rick asked.  
  
"I'm...fine," the other man assured him.  
  
"Nothing chasing you?" Rick pursued.  
  
"N...No," Lorenzo replied. "Rick, I found it! I found the tomb at the end of Hallway #9!"  
  
"Are you sure?"   
  
The Luccese professor nodded, "What else in this area would be sealed with both Egyptian and Amazon safeguards?"  
  
"Good point," Rick agreed, although he was getting that sinking feeling again. If something was that bad that two cultures worked together to seal it in, should they let it out? As badly as he wanted to say "no", he knew that Evy would say "yes" and let the consequences be damned. Oh well, might as well get this over with..... "C'mon."  
  
The two men walked into the treasury room and toward the sacred vault where Evy toiled away at cataloging the vases against the wall.  
  
"Evy?" Rick inquired.   
  
"Hmmm? Yes, did you have a good break, Dear?" she asked, continuing with her work at hand.  
  
"Yeah, but Larry found something that you should know about," her husband continued.  
  
"I found the tomb," he reported.  
  
Her eyebrows scrunched at the statement. Did she hear him right? "Is this the tomb to which you were referring last night?" she probed.  
  
Lorenzo nodded gleefully, "It is indeed! With the painting of Anubis and the Amazon charms! We found the crypt!"  
  
That news brought the devilish smile back to her face. Standing up straight, she faced her younger colleague and asked, "And this chamber is at the end of Hallway #9?"  
  
"Si," Lorenzo replied.  
  
She shook her head in disbelief. "Oh, the Bembridge Scholars are never going to live this one down," she chuckled. "Not after I'm through with them. Let's go down there."  
  
"Down where? Evy...." Rick protested. A sharp look from the modern day Pandora cut off his response. "Oh, what the Hell?" he relented, picking up his tools. "Might as well do this all over again. Maybe this time, we'll get it right."  
  
"Now, Rick, there's no need to be so cynical," she informed him. "Lorenzo's going to show us the way down to the tomb. Come on!"  
  
He just shrugged and silently followed, keeping his eyes open for any sign of trouble.  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
[Somewhere in Heaven]  
  
Rick wasn't the only person concerned about their progress into the catacombs. For above the clouds, the Archangels Michael and Raphael observed the scene carefully, dreading what these mortals were about to unleash upon the world once again.  
  
"Can we stop them?" Raphael probed, turning his dark-haired head toward his companion.  
  
"Unfortunately, Raphael, we cannot," his blonde, well-built companion stated. "Mortals have free will and so, we can only step in once something has occurred. In the case of these particular mortals, they haven't learned from their previous mistakes."  
  
"And we can do nothing to prevent it from happening again?" his fellow angel asked.  
  
"The witch will be released again," Michael foretold grimly and procured a familiar obsidian book with a golden star key design on its cover. "And we will have to fight fire with fire to defeat her."  
  
"The Book of the Dead?" Raphael protested. "You cannot mean to awaken that accursed priest, Imhotep!"  
  
"And who would be able to stop her in that period and in that form? Xena and Gabrielle are long dead," the chief angel replied and began to open the text. "And no, I do not wish to bring neither her nor her future friends into this matter, if it can be helped. I don't trust Xena to keep her word...and I don't trust Dubois' self-control in the face of Alti. It has to be this way, Raphael, trust me."  
  
With that, he began to read....  
  
  
*****************  
  
[Back in the Temple]  
  
Lorenzo led his two companions deeper and deeper into Hallway #9. Evy's breathing grew rapider with each moment due to her eagerness and excitement. Rick kept a steady eye out for intruders or any other threat. After an hour, they stood before the doorway to the tomb.  
  
"This is it!" the Luccese professor indicated.  
  
The curator of the British Museum analyzed the portal. Yes, there was Anubis guarding the passage...and on top of it, those charm-things hung around the gateway as well. "Whoever is in here was either very special..." she started.  
  
"'Or did something very naughty'," Rick finished the phrase in his head from Hamunaptra. "So, what do we do now?"  
  
"We open it, of course!" Evy exclaimed.  
  
"Of course, we open it. Never mind what happened with our old buddy, Imhotep. Evy, for once...." Rick begged.   
  
"Nothing's going to happen," she assured him and studied the door. Sure enough, there was a primitive combination lock just like the ones on the doors upstairs. "Stand back." With two deft turns to the right and one to the left, in addition to a hefty tug from the two archaeologists, the door released a cloud of ancient dust and creaked open.  
  
"See? I told you," she gloated to her husband and paraded into the unknown expanse followed closely by her junior colleague.  
  
Rick shook his head. It didn't matter. Sooner or later, his lovely yet jinxed wife was going to trip something and, as usual, they would be right at Ground Zero when she did it. "Oh well, best see what it looks like," he told himself and walked in after his peers.  
  
She had lit the tapers on either side of the room to reveal blank walls once again. The only glyphs were on the coffin itself.  
  
"This is very strange," she stated.   
  
"What is it?" Rick asked.  
  
"The inscription is in both hieratic and Greek," Evy explained. "Dating from the...first century BC?"  
  
"Yes," Lorenzo stated, although starting to lose his resolve. Something about the sarcophagus was giving him the chills....  
  
Rick observed this transformation in the other man with grim satisfaction. At least, he knew where the line was. "Can you read the inscriptions, Larry?"  
  
The younger man leaned over the granite and transliterated, "In this tomb, lay Alti, most evil of shamanesses, outcast of the Amazons. Under no conditions should the lid be opened lest she be released upon the world again."  
  
"That's all I needed to hear," Rick agreed with the words. "Let's just study the tomb and be done with it."  
  
"You're such a ninny," Evy chided, observing the curious depression in the lid. "This slot resembles the gem in the necklace. I wonder what this does?"  
  
Lorenzo backed away until he joined Rick's position. "She's not going to...."  
  
"Oh yeah, she is," Rick shrugged.  
  
"Is she crazy?" the other protested. "Evelyn, stop! For the love of God, don't!"  
  
"Trust me, get ready to run," the adventurer advised.  
  
Ignoring her male companions, the female archaeologist inserted the key into the hole and gave a twist. Instantly, the coffin sprang open and a mist seeped forth. Suddenly, the air turned dank and chilly.  
  
"Uh, Evy?" Rick stated. "I think we should get out of here!"  
  
Her eyes grew round and desperate. "I agree! Let's go!" she indicated, taking to her heels.  
  
The other man waited for her and Rick to exit the area before he left as well. At least the torches along the way helped them to sprint quickly toward the surface....  
  
***************  
  
Back in the tomb, a strong hand groped at the misty air above the now-opened sarcophagus. Then, a few creaks from long-unused bones could be heard echoing throughout the chamber. Finally, Alti climbed from the coffin. At full height, she easily cleared six feet, with brown hair, jet-black armor, and a standard battle helmet without a face guard. Her eyes resembled a raccoon's in that their bright white stood out in a sea of ebony shading. For the first time in 2,000 years, she was free of her prison.  
  
"Free at last!" she snickered. "Now, where did those fools go?" Then, she spied the door. "Yes! They fled!" She closed her eyes and savored the vestigial fear left in the chamber. "Mmmm...yes...Now, I want the rest of it!" Evoking a spell, she sped in a black blur through the winding passages toward the surface.  
  
****************   
  
Meanwhile, the O'Connells and Lorenzo bolted from the temple and reached the camp in record time. This sudden appearance, as can be imagined, startled Jonathan and Alex.  
  
"Mum? Dad? What is it? Isn't it a little early for lunch?" the boy inquired of his parents.  
  
"C'mon, Alex. Leave your stuff. We need to go! Now!" his father explained.  
  
"Do as he says," Evy added.  
  
The boy and his uncle exchanged skeptical looks at each other.   
  
Finally, Alex probed, "Mum, you did it again, didn't you?"  
  
"Did what? I didn't go down there. We went down there," she replied sharply.  
  
"We? What we?" Rick sighed, voicing his familiar refrain to this all-too-familiar debate as he threw gear into bags and hoisted them onto the truck. "You opened the sarcophagus!"  
  
"That's right, it was me, me, me...I, I, I," she snapped, looking at her associate.  
  
"Don't look at me!" Lorenzo shrugged. "I'm with Rick on this one, Evelyn. I begged you not to open it."  
  
"Look, we can argue about this later...I...," Rick urged yet, already feeling an icy sensation running up and down his backbone. "Shit," he cursed.  
  
Standing about ten feet from them, Alti smiled coldly and advanced quickly on the party.  
  
"For the love of Pete, who?" Jonathan posed frantically.  
  
"Later!" Rick growled and started to produce a pistol from one of his holsters.  
  
However, in the time it took for him to do so and aim it, the witch had already grabbed his throat and lifted him off of the ground. "Ah, let's see...what your deepest pain is...."  
  
From within his mind, Rick felt himself flash back to the prison camp in Cairo. Once again, he was dropping through the trapdoor and strangling on the tight hemp around his throat. "Gaahhh," he choked. For two minutes, he swung near death, trapped in his memories. Then, he felt himself drop and hit the sand...He was back at Thebes. Something had released him.  
  
The shamaness cursed and pulled a dagger from her arm. "Who would dare?" she spat and turned to see Ardeth Bey galloping toward her, scimitar already raised.   
  
"Allah, smite you, Woman!" he challenged.  
  
"I think not," she grinned and touched the horse's mane as he rode by. With that bit of contact, she inspired fear in the animal, causing him to throw the Bedouin to the ground.  
  
"Now, what to do with you?" she snickered and began picking through his memories. First, he was whirling breathlessly with O'Connell and Winston Havelok in the sandstorm. Then, the mummy soldier was carving him to ribbons. Finally, the wound he received at the manor house reopened. In a great deal of pain and bleeding profusely, he rolled on the ground.   
  
Turning towards the others, Alti sensed the fear and emotional energy dripping from them. Especially the dark-haired woman.... "I'll have fun taking that spiritual energy from you!" she laughed and moved towards Evy and Alex.  
  
Jonathan tried to intercede. "Not if I have anything to say about it!"  
  
The shamaness frowned, sighed, and backhanded the ne'er-do-well adventurer aside. "You don't!" she spat at his stunned face while still advancing on her intended victims.  
  
Rick, desperately trying to climb to his feet, could only manage to prop himself painfully on his elbows and even this display left him huffing from the effort. Who was that woman? It didn't matter. Even winded, he could get a shot off from here....  
  
"What...?" Ardeth winced.  
  
"I can't let her harm Evy and Alex," he coughed and fired a round straight at the witch. Yet, due to the blurred vision, he missed just wide. At least, it can't get any worse.  
  
"Be patient! I'll kill you soon enough!" she hissed at him and then, a smile formed on her face. "And who might you be?"  
  
Rick and Ardeth rolled painfully over and stared in the opposite direction. To their horror, another threat approached the camp from the west. For Imhotep roamed the Earth again and now, they were caught between a rock and a hard place.  
  
"I think we're in trouble," the former legionnaire wheezed and slumped back to the ground.  
  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Imhotep, for his part, felt a familiar hatred mixed up with respect at the sight of his frequent adversaries, the O' Connells. If the situation allowed, he would deal with them accordingly and get the satisfaction which he richly deserved from the insolent mortals. The woman in front of him represented a different puzzle. On the one hand, her garb indicated that she was a skilled warrior. Yet, her aura reeked of dark power at least the equal of his own. "Interesting," he mused and challenged, "Who are you to invade my sacred temple grounds?"  
  
For some reason, Alti was able to understand his ancient Egyptian challenge. Cackling back, she retorted, "I was imprisoned here, you Fool. Whoever the designer of this temple was, needs a lesson in aesthetics."  
  
From his position on the desert sand, Rick winced, "Oh shit! Now, she's done it!"  
  
The high priest smiled wickedly and raised his hands to the sky. "I designed that temple based on the highest advances of my time, Woman!" he roared. "Now, feel the wraith of Imhotep, high priest of Seti I!" Suddenly, a whirling sandstorm blew up out of nowhere, buffeting the Shamaness from all directions.  
  
In response, she pulled her robes over her face and paced out his storm, keeping her mind focused on the task at hand. Using the cover of the sands, she ducked back inside of his temple and baited, "Since this is your temple, why don't you come in after me?"  
  
Grinning at Rick and Ardeth, the most powerful priest of the Old Kingdom smirked and stated in ancient Egyptian, "Prepare yourselves. Once I am finished with her, you're next!" He stalked off towards the temple. Standing in the doorway, he sensed his opponent's vile presence. "Where are you? Show yourself!" he bellowed and looked about the area in horror at the damaged pillars and the flood-scrapped walls. This affront blinded him with rage.  
  
Unfortunately, it also gave Alti the opportunity to grab him from behind and lift him off the granite floor. "Nice display," she complemented. "I want your power! Give it to me!"  
  
"Niay!" he challenged and struggled.  
  
"Very well," the shamaness savored the moment and then, she continued, "Let's see how you enjoy pain!" With that, she reached inside of his mind, and pulled forth the memory of his worst nightmare, the Hum-Dai. "Oh, that looks lovely...Show me..." she urged almost hypnotically, a smile spreading across her face.   
  
Imhotep quivered as once again he felt the Mai-Jai cut out his tongue...and the blood came from his mouth. He felt himself contorted under the linen wrappings. Most horribly, the burning bites of the scarabs eating away at him washed over his person. Under this torture, even the high priest staggered and fell to the floor.  
  
"Poor man....Not so mighty, are you?" she hissed and kept picking away. Now, they were at Hamunaptra some thirteen years earlier. Through his eyes, she saw Rick O' Connell stab him in the stomach, thereby killing him the first time. Once again, the corresponding wound opened on him. He screamed, but still, she advanced into his memories of the underworld and made him relive the burning torment of that place. Then, there was the rematch with O' Connell at Ahm Shere and the bruising blows which produced corresponding welts and a bloody lip on his own chiseled face. Finally, as the coup-de-grace, she forced him to watch again as Anack-su-Namun fled the scene where he hung between this world and the underworld.  
  
"At least, she didn't get much farther than you," she taunted to the pain-wracked being in her choke-grip. "She was stung to death in the next chamber!"  
  
That remark drove him over the edge. Wracked with pain, despair, and anger from three millennia of suffering, Imhotep stiffened and went limp in her grasp.  
  
"Hmmm, too bad. I thought you would be more of a challenge," she shrugged and laid his body aside to absorb his essence later. " Now, to inflict more pain on the O' Connells' party." Walking back outside, she laughed, "I killed him!"  
  
Ardeth stared at her incredulously and protested weakly, "Impossible! Nothing can kill the Creature!"  
  
"Well, I just did," Alti hissed and moved in on the threesome huddled together by the truck.  
  
"Stay away from us," Lorenzo warned. "I'll defend them!"  
  
The shamaness shook her head and, deciding that his answer didn't merit a response, grabbed both him and Alex. Working her magic on them, the two victims screamed.  
  
"Keep away from my son!" Evy yelled and delivered a haymaker to the witch's cheek, the shock of which broke her concentration.  
  
"That actually hurt!" she snarled and backhanded the female archaeologist across the face hard, knocking her unconscious. "This one will join the priest in giving me their spiritual power," she mused. Then, she turned back to her two original victims.  
  
"I'm not afraid of you, Lady!" Alex challenged and smacked her in the thigh with a piece of wood. Unfortunately, it didn't have any effect.  
  
"At least the boy has a backbone," she sighed and grabbed both him and Lorenzo could resist.  
  
"Now, where were we?" she laughed as the two in her grasp screamed in unspeakable pain.  
  
On the ground ten feet away, Rick shook his head, muttering, "We are in some serious trouble now...." With that, he joined Ardeth and Evy in blissful unconsciousness.   
  
(To be continued) Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com.   



	3. Dancing Before the Music Starts Part 3

Dancing Before the Music Starts  
By David J. Duncan  
July 2001   
  
For notes and such, please see Part 1 (Additional note: The scene to which Michael refers is in "Climax: Rematch with Ares" an earlier piece in the series)  
  
Chapter 7  
  
[Heaven]  
  
Michael shook his blond head sadly and turned his eyes from the viewing pool. His plan had failed miserably. He had hoped that Imhotep would have been able to dispose of Alti. With events going the way that they were, the archangel had no choice....  
  
"Raphael," he sighed. "It seems we will have to intervene after all."  
  
"Then, we're going there?" the other archangel asked pensively.  
  
"No, not exactly," the angel elaborated and paused for a second as if trying to think of an alternate plan. "We're going to ask Xena and Gabrielle to step in...along with their friends."  
  
"But, you said that Dubois wouldn't...." the other doubted.  
  
"Yes, but now, we have no choice. This situation involves him as well as his sister now. Very soon, the connection will make itself felt in any event," the regal archangel noted.  
  
"Connection?" Raphael interjected.  
  
Michael nodded and continued, "When Alti faced the Duboises in Tucson, she split his persona in two and stole his dark side...."  
  
"Right. But, he recovered it again...so what of it?" the ebony haired angel inquired, trying to follow his colleague's argument.  
  
"While the witch had his darkness, it bonded with her own somehow. Yes, he controls it. But, he can feel her presence. Now, given the pain that Alvaro is going through in the past, he will feel it...and know who is responsible. With that stress, the darkness will surface again, I fear," Michael mentioned.   
  
"But he has shown remarkable improvement over the past few months," the other angel argued.  
  
Michael had to admit that Raphael had a point. However, still being the harsh judge of character that he was, the angel would need to see this to truly believe it. "Now, come. We have to tell them before it's too late...."  
  
  
***************  
  
[Tucson, AZ--1997]  
  
The sun beat down over the Sonoran Desert, promising to deliver yet another hot day for the Old Pueblo. On the fourth floor of the Congress Hotel, an elderly man sat in a wicker chair and took in the view. This trip revealed the Old Pueblo's staggering growth. In particular, the University of Arizona's campus had astounded him when he toured it the previous day. During his last trip there in 1950, the school was just starting to expand toward its present size. Everyone knew that it would be a grand place, but nobody thought that the old place would get so darn enormous!  
  
Sipping slowly on a glass of orange juice, he observed the date on the front page of the "Star". "Hmmm, May 15, 1997....It was 60 years ago today when we were at Thebes. Mum, Dad, Uncle Jon, Ardeth, I hope you're resting easy today. Certainly, feeling a lot better than we were on that bloody day," he sighed and started to read the news. After five minutes, he gave up and pitched the paper in the trash. "Bloody Americans, why can't they just live in peace?'  
  
"Excuse me, Grandpa Alex?" a female voice called from inside of the room.  
  
Alexander O' Connell smiled warmly and shuffled back into the room. There, his granddaughter, Angela Dubois, waited for him to reach the chair. "Hello, Angel. And how's my bundle of sunshine today?"  
  
"I'm great, thanks!" she sang. "Dave will be meeting us at the restaurant." She studied his face. Something was troubling him. "Are you concerned about something?" she asked.  
  
Alex frowned. According to her mother, Angela had always been too insightful for her own good. Since he hadn't seen her for some fifteen years, he had used the last three days to observe her and her family. Both she and her husband, David, seemed to be nice enough kids, but they seemed to have secrets. And, after some of his adventures, Alex knew when secrets were there to be discovered. "Sounds wonderful, Dear. Can you help an old man?"  
  
She shrugged. Among other things, Angie was gifted with psychic abilities and she too could tell when something was wrong. "I'm sensing something about today's date. Why?" she pondered. "Oh well, best not to startle him overly much," she thought and helped him out of the room, down the elevator, and out to her Nissan Sentra. Once they were seated, they drove away towards downtown.  
  
********************************  
  
Don Schanke fumbled with his menu as he scanned the prices. Normally, Dave and Angie were pretty frugal when they went out to eat, but the "Clandaro" was pretty upscale. The paunchy, balding homicide detective wasn't finding anything that he wanted to eat.  
  
Across the table from him, an attractive woman with dark eyes and long auburn hair shook her head at him, "Hey, Schank, it's going to be okay. I hear the Pasta Sandini is pretty good. I'm getting a Greek salad with chicken."  
  
He cracked a smile. "Leave it to you, Natalie, to play Mom and keep me honest."  
  
Dr. Natalie LeBeau, Tucson's best coroner, reclined in her seat and chuckled, "Now, Angie and Dave are nervous enough having her grandfather in town. Please don't get him worked up. I wish Tracy could have joined us."  
  
"Yeah," Schanke replied. "Me too, but hey, it's a free country. Okay, I'll play nice and get the pasta."  
  
"Well, I'm glad that's set," Dave Dubois cracked from across the table. "Now, I think I'm with Natalie on the salad."   
  
"Is that all?" the brunette woman sitting to his left laughed. "What, are you on a diet?"  
  
"Oh that's droll," Dave grinned. "Hey, Angie's been feeding me too well, and your Aunt's going to stuff me when we go back East next month. I need to cut down, Francesca."  
  
"For just this meal," the Italian literature professor slurred good-naturedly. "By the way, Angie's grandfather seems like a wonderful man."   
  
Her medievalist cousin nodded, ran a hand through his chestnut-brown hair and turned to see his wife and her grandfather walk in through the door. He waved to them.  
  
About two minutes later, Angie had helped Alex into his chair and eased into her place beside her husband. Turning to him, she asked, "How's everything?"  
  
"For the most part, I'm doing okay," he replied. "I have been having this headache. Nothing that a few aspirins couldn't handle though."  
  
Francesca shook her head, "Angie, he's been having the shakes all morning."  
  
Across the table, Schanke glanced over at his friend nervously. When Dave started feeling like that, it usually meant trouble. "You okay, Bud?"  
  
Alex glared at his granddaughter's husband intensely. Again, he felt an all-consuming sense of deja-vu. Something about him was very familiar. But why was that? Before three days ago, he had never met the younger associate professor. Yet, something still nagged at the elderly archaeologist...Something dark bubbled under the surface of the professor's friendly veneer, and it was tied to the incident at Thebes somehow.  
  
Dave shook his head at the old man. He didn't need O' Connell playing Freud with him...and people who wormed their way too deeply into his affairs had a habit of getting themselves hurt or worse. For thirty years, he had dealt with his own multiple personalities and resident Dark Child. Other than the old man, only the present company had been able to deal with the knowledge of his condition.  
  
Then, he felt it again. A sharp icy-hot pain between the eyes and burning its way up his skull. He began to see things. The Egyptian desert. A tomb. Worse, people writhing in pain at the hands of a single attacker. Now, the attacker's face came into focus...thin and grim with intense white eyes. "Alti...how?" he hissed low. At this sight, he shook violently.  
  
Angie rubbed his shoulder, "Dave! Oh gosh! Let's get him out of here! Maybe some fresh air will help him."  
  
Francesca helped Angie in getting him outside.   
  
Once there, he leaned against the brick facade and gasped for air. "It's Alti," he maintained weakly. "Somehow, she's doing this in her previous incarnation!"  
  
Angie and Francesca shot each other surprised looks. "Alti free?" they chorused.  
  
"Yes, somehow...she's free!" Dave hissed low and felt himself starting to lose control. A slight growl escaped his clenched lips.  
  
"She was released and now, needs to be dealt with," a majestic voice indicated.  
  
The trio turned to see two men, or what seemed like men, dressed in breastplates with gray wings sprouting from their backs.   
  
Angie pushed, "Who are you? What do you want with us?"  
  
"Your husband concerns us, Angela," Michael informed her. "As for you and Francesca...well, there is an indirect role for you in our business."  
  
Angie frowned. Anything indirectly involving her, Francesca, and Alti had to call for Xena's abilities. "Francesca, let's do it!" she stated and reached over her back. Her hand grasped and drew the invisible sword sheathed there. In a flash, Xena stood in her place.  
  
For her part, Francesca concentrated. Inside of the intense blue light, the two angels could see a staff form in her hands and then within seconds, Gabrielle take her place.  
  
"Amazing!" Raphael marveled.  
  
"Yes, quite," Michael agreed. "Xena, it's been a while."  
  
"Michael," Xena returned the greeting. "You don't usually just drop in to chat. So, spill it."  
  
The Bard looked at the professor who was still trying to keep his moods under wraps and remembered the older man still inside the restaurant. Accordingly, she asked, "What is the significance of David's and Angela's grandfather's moods?"  
  
"Today is the 60th anniversary of an important event in Angela's and David's respective family histories, Gabrielle. In 1937, her great-grandparents discovered a certain tomb at Thebes and opened it," the blonde angel informed them.  
  
Xena shook her head. Her instincts had been right on. Still, she needed to ask, "How was the tomb opened?"  
  
"Remember what Cleopatra said, Xena?" Gabrielle interjected. "The jewel is the key."  
  
"Once the necklace was discovered, the jewel was used to open the sarcophagus. The woman's name was Evelyn O' Connell. Her associate's name, I believe, was Lorenzo Alvaro. Both are suffering at Alti's hands and given David's link to the shamaness, she is getting stronger," Michael continued.  
  
The Warrior Princess considered the situation carefully and answered with grim determination, "All right, we'll go back and clean up the situation. Besides, I can't let that bitch affect my friends' lives any further."  
  
"So, how do we get back there?" the future Amazon queen posed.  
  
Suddenly, the area was filled with a white cloying pea soup fog, obscuring the group from everyone else.  
  
Dave looked up and managed a smile, "Hi, Sis. I thought you'd never get here."

Cybelle Rogers stepped into view from her place of concealment in the smoke. "Dave, you think I'm going to leave my grandfather in the clutches of that monster? Really! Are we ready?" she lectured.  
  
Dave smiled in spite of himself. Despite all of her training, she was still his stubborn little sister. "You got a point. Well, here goes!" he stated, nodding briefly to the two angels before diving through the fog.  
  
Xena clasped her companion's hand and urged, "Let's go!" With that, the two warriors jumped into the fog as well.  
  
Cybelle looked at the two archangels. As a priestess of the realm of Althanor, they had no real authority over her, at least not practically speaking. Still, for the sake of hedging future bets, she gave them a respectful bow of the head. At that moment, the blue sapphire on her necklace began to glow profusely. "If you will excuse us, I must depart." Having said those words, she walked into the fog and disappeared, leaving the mists to rapidly dissipate behind her.  
  
"Do you think that they can do it?" Raphael asked.  
  
"It is up to them now, Raphael. It is all up to them," his companion replied and stared into the blank space where the group had just been only moments earlier. Only God knew what would happen next....  
  
  
Chapter 8  
[Thebes, 1937]  
  
Alti released both of her victims, watching them drop to the sand. Both Alex and Lorenzo trembled fitfully. If she had wanted to, the shamaness could have killed them in a heartbeat. But no, best to leave somebody alive to spread the word of her return.   
  
"Besides, I have something more important to do," she told herself. First, she walked back into the temple and carried Imhotep out of there. Then, she dumped him in the back of Rick's rented truck before doing the same with Evy.  
  
"Hey..., Witch," Rick muttered. "Where...do you think...?"  
  
Alti spun to see O' Connell struggling to his knees. "Do yourself a favor and stay down!" she snapped.  
  
"Not...a chance," he hissed and somehow managed to hit her in the arm with a lucky pistol shot before collapsing back into unconsciousness.  
  
She ground her teeth while accessing the wound. Somehow, the imbecile had hurt her shoulder in the same place where the Arab's sting had pierced her earlier. "Count yourselves lucky, You Fools! But, once I have their spiritual power, I will be back!" With that, she got into the vehicle, figured out how to start it, and took off into the desert.  
  
***************  
  
About an hour later, Lorenzo managed to stumble to his feet. "What happened?" he wondered woozily. "Was it a dream?" A sharp icy pain between his eyes provided an abrupt answer. "I guess not. Wow." Staggering around the area, he checked on everyone else. Alex and Rick were still out cold. Jonathan was just starting to come around, as was Ardeth Bey.   
  
"I...say," Jonathan mumbled. "What hit me, Old Boy?" He rubbed his head, trying to get rid of the headache.  
  
"Some woman with a lot of power and a grudge to match," Lorenzo guessed.   
  
"I would say you're right, my friend," Ardeth agreed, managing to climb to his feet. "There was something in that tomb...Something more dangerous than the Creature ever was."  
  
"Oh, come on!" Jonathan doubted. "That witch couldn't have...."  
  
"She did. She defeated and killed Imhotep inside of the temple," the Bedouin chieftain countered. "Speaking of the Creature, where is his body?"  
  
At that point, Alex managed to throw his senses together enough to look around. Then, he exclaimed weakly, "Hey, where's Mum?"  
  
"Taken..." Rick murmured painfully and finally collected enough resolve to stand. "Both...Imhotep and Evy...were taken...by that hag."  
  
"You saw this?" Lorenzo pushed.  
  
"Yeah, just 'fore I...blacked out. I put a slug in her shoulder too. Couldn't let her go without my calling card, right?" the former legionnaire slurred.  
  
"Indeed," Ardeth stated. "But, without your transportation, you cannot get back to Cairo. Ahmet, my horse, cannot carry all of you. But still, I will alert the other Mai-Jai leaders, and we will go after the witch. We cannot allow her to absorb the power of the Creature!"  
  
Just then, Alex felt a cool breeze waft across his forehead. "What the?" he wondered and looked up in wonder. For at that point, a mist had begun to form in front of the temple and rapidly solidified into a solid cloudbank. "Ummm, Uncle Jon, Dads, Ardeth, Mr. Larry, since when does mist form in the middle of the desert?" he inquired.  
  
"It doesn't, Son," Rick stated and turned toward Alex. His eyes bulged, "Whoa!"   
  
Just then, four people, a man and three women, spilled out of the fog. The man was just under six feet tall with dark brown hair and really intense brown eyes. One woman was really tall with black hair, dressed in a leather halter, and wearing an armored breastplate. Her blonde companion was closer to the man's height and carried a staff. Finally, the other woman had long brunette hair and wore a flowing green dress in addition to the same intensity in her eyes as the other man's.  
  
"If the fog bothers you, Little One, that is no problem," the latter shrugged. She sang some strange song in a language he couldn't understand and made the fog vanish somehow.  
  
"Weird," Alex stated. "But that was some entrance! Who are you?"  
  
"Alex, let's not pester the good people," Jonathan lectured.  
  
Rick and Ardeth glanced at each other. For some reason, two of the women looked familiar. Again, they were swept back into the past...and their previous lives. They were back at this place and the raven-haired warrior as well as the blonde haired bard had been with them. The four of them, along with Evy's predecessor, had sealed the woman in that crypt.  
  
Gabrielle felt a familiarity with the two men as well, but couldn't understand why. It was something that she couldn't touch.  
  
Ardeth, however, knew their identities from the Bedouin legends. "You have to be Xena the legendary Warrior Princess!"  
  
"So, I have been called," Xena replied.   
  
"And you are Gabrielle, her companion and sister in arms," he continued.  
  
"That's right," the poetess nodded.  
  
Rick eyed them carefully. "So, you're Xena. I've gotta admit I didn't believe the stories when I was in Greece. But, it's good to have you here with us. I'm Rick O' Connell." Saying that, he extended his hand.  
  
"Thanks," the Warrior expressed and shook the outstretched hand.   
  
Just then, from within her head, Angie gasped...and realized that she, through Xena, was shaking hands with her great-grandfather!   
  
"And who are your friends?" Jonathan probed.  
  
"Our names are..." Dave started and glanced at his sister. "David Dumont and Cybelle Rogers."  
  
"We are pleased to meet you," Cybelle smiled. She glanced around the camp at the rest of their new friends. The man off to the left, sitting against what was left of the supplies, seemed familiar to her. "And who are you?"  
  
"Well," Rick started. "The Bedouin who introduced us is called Ardeth Bey. He's the leader of the Mai-Jai tribes. Then, there's my brother-in-law, Jonathan Carnahan, my son, Alex, and the man over there is my wife's associate, Dr. Lorenzo Alvaro."  
  
"Pleased to meet you all," Lorenzo smiled.  
  
"Likewise," Dave nodded. Despite the static in his head from being so close to Alti, he recognized the other man immediately as his grandfather. Immediately, he managed to collect himself and ask, "So, are you all right?"  
  
"Other than a pounding headache, I think so. Madonna! It hurts," Lorenzo cringed, furrowing his brow in the old way which made Dave feel even more nostalgic.  
  
"Give it time. You'll feel better soon," Cybelle assured him. "I have some herbs that may help, if you'll come with me."  
  
Xena glanced at the two siblings assisting their future grandfather before turning her attention back to Ardeth and asking, "If we need help, can we call on your brethren?"  
  
"Indeed, we would be honored to fight by your side," the chieftain affirmed.  
  
"And I'll do anything to get my wife back from that crone," Rick added. "But, where is she? She had nearly an hour to get to wherever she was going."  
  
"That's okay. I can find her," Dave cracked.  
  
"You?" Jonathan chortled. "I say, we don't know where she is and we know our way back to Cairo. You just pop in...and you think..." He let out a sarcastic laugh.  
  
Dave stared at the ne'er-do-well and snarled darkly, "Was I being funny? I don't recall saying anything humorous!" Before anyone could react, he crossed the space between them and looked Jonathan in the eye, allowing some of the deep-seeded rage to seep to the surface. 

For his part, Evy's older brother recoiled at this display. Being manhandled by the witch was bad enough, but having to put up with the wild man in front of him was too much for him to bear.   
  
"Remember to watch your mouth, Twit. One day, you may be called to account for those words!" the enraged man in front of him snickered menacingly.  
  
Alex sought refuge from this scene behind his father.   
  
For his part, Rick drew his pistols and trained them on the attacker. "I don't care how angry you are, but nobody beats on Jonathan except maybe me," he insisted.  
  
Xena tensed and grabbed Rick's hand. "Stop it, all of you!" she demanded, stepping in between Rick and Dave. Turning to the latter, she hissed, "Cool it, David. I know that you're having a tough time, but you need to keep better control."  
  
Dave nodded sullenly and looked towards the Celtic priestess. "Cybelle, do you have any St. John's Wart?" he asked.  
  
She smiled and concurred, "You bet. With you around, I made sure that there was some on hand." Reaching into the pouch at her waist, Cybelle handed him a handful of crushed green leaves. "Hope this helps."  
  
"Yeah, so do I," her brother murmured and took the medicine. Within a minute, he felt his internal rage starting to subside. "I'm glad that stuff can calm the Child down," he sighed in relief.  
  
"As are we," Gabrielle agreed. "Now, David, you were saying?"  
  
"Right," he nodded. "We have faced her before. Her name's Alti and, during that encounter, she pulled a similar number on me that from appearances, she did to all of you."  
  
"And how did you react to it?" Rick probed.  
  
"Oh, she very nearly killed me. She took my nastiness and used it for a while before I could take it back. For some reason, when she's around, it's like a dark beacon and the rage bubbles forth to meet it. Through that connection, I can track her. She's heading that way," Dave continued, pointing away from the temple and into the desert.   
  
Ardeth glanced in that direction. "They are heading to Luxor!"  
  
"Where?" the medievalist inquired.  
  
"Another ancient Egyptian temple," Xena explained. "And that is where we must go."  
  
"But how?" Jonathan asked. "She took our vehicle!"  
  
Rick looked at the newcomers. "The man has a point, People. How are we going to get there? Luxor's a good fifty miles away at least."  
  
"You forget," Cybelle interjected. "Distances mean nothing to me. I can get us there in the blink of an eye if necessary."

Lorenzo studied the priestess in front of him. "Yes," he thought to himself. "The robes, herbs, and the mists! She is a priestess in her own right from one of the Celtic orders!" In college, he had studied about the druids and their rituals, but didn't believe that anyone still held the secrets to their lore. Obviously, the woman in front of him did and could use it at any point.  
  
Cybelle continued, "We need to get you all back to Cairo immediately."  
  
"Stuff it," Rick disagreed. "Look, Cybelle, I really appreciate the concern, but that maniac has my wife."  
  
"And you won't do her any good in the state you're in," the priestess tried to argue.  
  
"I'll take my chances," the former legionnaire stubbornly stated, while checking his revolvers and reloading them.  
  
"As will I," Ardeth added resolutely.  
  
"At the very least, let me take them back to Cairo," Cybelle suggested, looking at Jonathan, Alex, and Lorenzo. "They need rest."  
  
"But, Evy's my sister! I won't...." Jonathan protested, leaping to his feet.  
  
"She has a point," Xena interrupted. "Alti spared you for some reason. Next time, she'll shred your mind. Trust me, you're better off far away from the scene."  
  
As much as Rick admired his brother-in-law's newfound backbone, he agreed with Xena and Cybelle. "Sorry, Jonathan, I think she's right."  
  
"But, Dad!" Alex jumped in.  
  
"No buts, Alex," Rick sternly told his son. "Your mom is in a big enough pickle this time. Remember the scene in the oasis?"  
  
The boy nodded silently.  
  
"Okay, if something like that were to happen to both of you, I don't know what I'd do. So, please, it'll make me feel better if you and your uncle are safe. Okay?" his father continued, ruffling the boy's hair.  
  
"I know," Alex sighed. "I wish I could do something...."  
  
"Watching our flank is a big job, Alex," Dave suggested. "Besides, if we need the cavalry, who better to call on?"  
  
"I guess you're right," the little boy shrugged and stalked off to join his uncle and their associate. "Just get her back, okay?"  
  
Rick smiled widely and nodded, "You got a deal, Alex."   
  
Cybelle summoned another cloud bank and advised, "Be right back! Come on, everyone. Just walk through the mists as if you were leaving a room.  
The three men nervously glanced back at their friends.  
  
"It's perfectly safe," Xena assured them.  
  
Receiving that assurance, Jonathan, Alex, and Lorenzo vanished into the mists.   
  
Then, the priestess added, "Oh, Dave, I'll get your gear on the way back. You did leave the bow and arrows in your study at home, right?"  
  
He nodded, "Right and thanks."  
  
She nodded and sprinted into the fog. Once inside, she sealed up the portal behind her.  
  
"That will take some getting used to," Rick remarked.  
  
"It is...truly marvelous!" Ardeth added. "But why can't you people ever travel normally?"  
  
"Relax," Xena assured him good-naturedly. "It is unusual, but the mists come in handy. Now, let's get cracking...."  
  
With that being said, the group began to plan their strategies for the coming battle.  
  
To be continued. Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com .  
  
  
  
  



	4. Dancing Before the Music Starts Part 4

xover: Dancing Before the Music Starts  
David J. Duncan  
July 2001  
  
For notes & such, please see Part 1  
  
  
Chapter 9  
  
After fighting with the fitful metal beast for the entire trip, Alti finally smiled at the sight ahead of her.  
  
"Luxor," she crowed and looked down at her feet. Through trial and error in addition to the memories she had seen in the minds of Rick, Ardeth, and Lorenzo, she had realized how the pedals worked. "The left lever," she recalled and pushed down on the brake, stopping the vehicle.  
  
"Come on, both of you," she sneered to the two forms in the back of the truck. "We have business to conduct." Then, she dragged them towards the temple complex.  
  
****************************************  
  
An hour later, Evy groaned and tried to move. "What?" she whispered and looked around. She was in the bottom of the great temple, strapped to an obsidian sacrifice slab just like the one at Hamunaptra from thirteen years before. Turning her head, she saw Imhotep's body lying awkwardly on the granite floor. "If he's dead, then who?"  
  
"So, you're awake. Good," a voice taunted from the dark recesses around the room's edges. Alti stepped into the light. "I want that power that's inside of you."  
  
"What power?" the archaeologist doubted.  
  
"You are a very old soul, My Dear. In fact, I sense that we have met before," the shamaness grinned. "In any event, with each incarnation, a soul gains greater karma and power. Since you have been here more than once, you have great energy coupled with your soul. I want that energy, and I will have it."  
  
"So, why do you need Imhotep? If he's dead..." Evy asked, hoping to gain information.  
  
Alti's eyes sparked darkly and she laughed, "Because, I want you to know what it is I am going to do to you. His power is that of the Forbidden. I who am already accursed have nothing to fear from it. But you, I want you to fear me...When I'm done..." She paused and grabbed Evy by the throat, triggering a flood of nightmares and a piercing scream in the latter before continuing, "You will fear me. You will be terrified of me!"  
  
"Rick will stop you!" Evy protested.  
  
The shamaness sneered, "Let him try! If he and his rabble come here, I'll crush them like the insects that they are. Now, I need to meditate before the ceremony." Then, she left the room, leaving Evy to her own thoughts.  
  
"Hurry, Rick....Please!" she sighed desperately, pulling at the bonds at her wrists and ankles to no avail.  
  
*********************************  
  
The sun had set in bloody red fire across the western sands of the desert and the moon had risen high into the evening sky. Then, about five miles from the temple, Cybelle opened the doorway, allowing her friends back into the physical world.  
  
"I thought this was supposed to be Luxor," Ardeth wondered. "We're still five miles away."  
  
"I did that deliberately," the priestess mentioned. "We need space to plan."  
  
"Plan? What plan? We just go in, right?" Rick surmised, purposefully pulling out a gun in each hand.  
  
Gabrielle stared at Xena who frowned at her. The former was having an incredible case of deja-vu herself. "It seems like we just had this conversation," she mused, shaking her head.  
  
"No, Alti will be ready for us," the Warrior Princess disagreed. "Besides, she can sense David's presence."  
  
"Sense his presence?" the Mai-Jai chieftain wondered. "But how?"  
  
The professor looked up testily at the bedouin. This close to Alti's influence, his darkness was fighting him mightily, and it was all that he could do to keep it under control. "The bond between our dark sides. I can sense her. She can sense me. It's a two-way street," he explained. "But then, she can also tell when Xena and Gabrielle are close by...and, since you've experienced her pleasures firsthand, I'd say both of you as well."  
  
"So, what do we do?" Rick insisted.  
  
"We go in, but Gabrielle, David, and I will distract Alti. Can you two go with Cybelle and free his wife?" Xena detailed.  
  
Rick set the safety on his shotgun. "Consider it done," he affirmed.  
  
"Then, let's go," Gabrielle urged, looking up at the sky. "Judging by the moon, it is almost 2AM. The peak is not that far off."  
  
Cybelle opened another cloud column and whisked them away toward the temple.  
  
  
********************************  
  
Meantime, Alti swayed deep in her meditative state within the priests' burial chamber, reaching out for the dead spirits imbedded within the complex itself. "Come to me," she commanded. "You have a purpose...I order you to come here!" Suddenly, she raised her hands to the sky and a yellow glow escaped from them. The energy went off in all directions, seeping into the ground, and causing everything to shake within a mile radius.  
  
Then, slowly, very slowly, the mummified priests came back to life. First, the high priest, and then his subordinates emerged from their tombs.  
  
The shamaness allowed herself a satisfied smile. Now that she had her "assistants", the ceremony would be able to proceed. But first, she turned to the revived group and stated, "I have a proposition for you. If you help me, I will release you back to the Underworld. Fail me, and your spirits will wander the world forever. Understood?"  
  
The group nodded methodically.  
  
"Very well, then," she added. "Go to the ritual chamber. I will be there shortly."  
  
The mummies turned and left the room silently.  
  
At that moment, the witch felt a sharp, familiar presence nearby. But who? Then, sensing the levels of darkness in the vicinity, she snarled, "How did they get here? No matter!"  
  
Once again, she called on the dead spirits. But this time, she stirred an army of mummified soldiers from the crypt in the bottom of the temple. "Go forth and destroy the intruders who are approaching the temple. Do this and I will release you back to the Underworld. Fail me and I'll destroy you!" she ordered.  
  
Then, from a distance, she sensed that they had accepted her terms and were on the march. "I hope Xena, Dubois, and the others will enjoy the reception I prepared for them. It will be their last!" she cackled and went back to her preparations.  
  
  
(Reader's Advisory: The sword fight in this section does get pretty brutal. Also, if the concept of somebody with two distinct personalities, one of whom enjoys violence, bugs you, you might wish to skip the end of the Dave/Xena/Gabrielle vs. the mummies fight. Just thought you would like to be warned.)  
  
Chapter 10  
  
The fogbank opened once again next to the temple, allowing the rescue party to step out at the side gate.  
  
"Remember," Xena whispered. "We have to do this quickly. The moon is almost at its peak."  
  
Everyone looked up and saw that she was right. From its position, they had maybe 45 minutes at the most.  
  
"Let's go!" Rick stated low and took off, followed closely by Cybelle and Ardeth.  
  
"Now, let's kick some tail!" Dave hissed, inspecting his bow. A cold smile spread across his face as he took off around the building.   
  
Gabrielle flashed her best friend a nervous glance. There would be no telling how long their companion's control would hold up. "We'd best keep him in sight," she advised.  
  
"You got it!" Xena agreed as they quickly followed him toward the front of the complex. About three minutes later, they spied him waiting for them on the front steps and keeping a sharp watch for any surprises.  
  
Reading the surprised expressions on their faces, he shrugged and probed, "You really don't think I'm going to let the Child take control and rush in there half-witted, did you? I learned my lesson the last time Alti and I faced off in the library. Now, let's go!" He made his way up the stairs, hurriedly but carefully.  
  
Xena nodded relievedly. His control was improving. "Thank the gods for small miracles!" she thought as they followed him through the door.  
  
"Now what?" the Bard whispered.  
  
The Warrior Princess glanced around the darkened entry chamber. "It's too quiet. I don't like it," she growled low.  
  
"Same here," Dave hissed, readying his bow. "I'm glad Cybelle was able to fetch this for me." In his quiver, a bunch of arrows with explosive tips lay ready for use.  
  
Suddenly, they heard what sounded like marching feet. Turning toward the inner door, they encountered the source: about 25 mummified soldiers.  
  
"Let's party," Dave cracked as the trio prepared for the inevitable assault.  
  
*****************  
  
Meanwhile, Cybelle, Rick, and Ardeth carefully advanced down the subterranean passages toward the ritual chamber. Although they had been walking quite a ways and hadn't encountered any trouble up to that point, all three knew that Alti would have some surprise waiting for them.  
  
"I can't believe she hasn't tried anything yet," Rick muttered.  
  
"Be careful what you wish for, my friend," the Bedouin advised. "We aren't there yet."  
  
"Besides," the priestess reminded them both. "We're in her territory. I don't have to remind you both to stay sharp."  
  
Rick nodded. After everything that he and his Arab comrade had been through over the past decade and a half together, such knowledge should seem secondhand to them both. No sense in getting too overconfident because trouble could be lurking around the next corner.  
  
Just then, a familiar sound echoed from behind them in the chamber....a group of feet marching in cadence.   
  
"Damn!" Rick muttered. "Looks like we're about to have company again!"  
  
"Such as?" Ardeth inquired. "Only the Creature can raise the dead."  
  
"I've got news for you, Guys," Cybelle sighed. "So, can Alti...and she'll force them to do her bidding." Then, she saw the sight. "Speak of the devils...."  
  
Her companions wheeled around to see five mummified soldiers advancing on them from behind.   
  
"Allah, help us!" Ardeth declared, brandishing his scimitar.  
  
"I say that God helps those who help themselves!" Rick declared, aiming his shotgun, and pumping round after round into their opponents, decapitating one after another in the process. He winged two others and blew a fist-sized hole in the fifth soldier, but they still kept coming. "I hate mummies!" he yelled.  
  
Cybelle walked to his right. "Get back," she commanded and began to chant.  
  
"What are you doing?" the two men chorused.  
  
The priestess raised her hands toward the ceiling, collecting every bit of static electricity from the air and stones about them. Then, after combining it with her own formidable energies, sent three powerful bursts into the advancing horde, effectively devastating them.  
  
"That's better," she told the others. "Now, you were asking me something?"  
  
"Who us?" Rick denied, imitating his son's best angelic/innocent face. "Not us."  
  
She cracked a smile. Some men were such cynics. "Then, come on. We have to deal with Alti and the chamber shouldn't be that far ahead."   
  
"The sooner we get there, the sooner we save Evy," Rick affirmed as they hustled toward their goal.  
  
  
*************************  
  
Meantime, back in the front foyer, Xena, Gabrielle, and Dave were facing the majority of the undead troops.   
  
"I really don't have time for this!" he bellowed at the horde.  
  
In response, the troops dropped their jaws farther than one would have thought possible and roared back at him.  
  
The medievalist shook his head, waving his hand in front of his face, and baiting, "Whew! mummy breath! Guys, has anyone told you about Listerine?" Not receiving a response, he continued, "No, well, I guess that I'm going to have to introduce the concept of cleaning out your mouths, because your breath stinks!" With that, he fired a series of regular shafts into the opposition.   
  
Unfortunately, the mummies kept advancing on them.   
  
"Shit!" Dave cursed himself. "I should have known better than that!"   
  
Just then, the mummy leader picked the professor up and flung him towards the far wall.  
  
Concentrating, Dave used his own psychic abilities to slow his flight down just enough so that he barely grazed the brick facade. However, the impact still pushed him farther towards the edge.   
  
"That does it!" the Warrior Princess decided and, yelling her war cry, executed a triple flip over the troops, and landed behind them. Drawing her sword, she began to quickly cut a swath through their attackers. A fling of her chakram took out still five others in a single trip.  
  
Gabrielle, on the other hand, had some problems with the attackers. At that point, she saw a sword lying on the floor from one of the dispatched enemies. "Since they're already dead, I don't have to worry about it," she decided while picking up the sword and hacking everything in sight.  
  
For his part, Dave concentrated again and, just as his sister had done in the other passage, collected his own energies. After channeling this power, he released a burst at the horde, taking out six other undead adversaries.  
  
Still, eight other soldiers spilled into the chamber from the side entrance.  
  
Xena threw her circular weapon another time, cutting down three more opponents.  
  
Dave released another pulse, wiping out another two. Then, after picking up one of a discarded scimitar, he let out a blood-curdling roar, and charged the other two foes.   
  
One of the mummies held up his hand and formed razor-sharp claws. The newly endowed opponent carved three deep grooves into Dave's left shoulder. At this point, any sane man would have backed off, which the professor seemed to do as he shook fiercely and started to breath heavily.   
  
His two companions, although still finishing up the other three enemies, noted the transformation. From past experience, they knew that his personalities had flipped again. Once more, the Dark Child was in charge, and they only wanted to stay the heck out of his way.  
  
Unfortunately for the mummies, their intended victim looked up at them with a savage expression. His right eye had closed and his mouth was contorted in a sadistic grin. "Well now, looks like I have two bloody idiots who don't know when to quit," he chuckled. "Boys, let me show you how starting with the eager beaver there!" He advanced again.  
  
The Claw took another swipe at his adversary. However, this time, it missed.  
  
"Tsk, nothin' but air! Boys, where I come from, we have something called a manicure," the Child snickered and, faster than the eye could see, brought his weapon down and amputated the enhanced limb. Two more quick swipes finished the job. "Just like a Thanksgiving turkey..." he started to gloat over the remains.  
  
Just then, the other ancient warrior grabbed him from behind, raising him high overhead, and tensing as if to fling the enraged man against the stones once again.  
  
Rather than allow this to happen, the Child swung his scimitar again, cutting into the top of his attacker's skull, and forcing the other to drop him.  
  
"Didn't like that, did ya?" he snickered darkly, brandishing the weapon.  
  
The mummy lunged at him.  
  
"Suit yourself!" he advised the advancing bandage pile. Another quick scimitar swipe decapitated it, removing the last threat.   
  
"Aw, Mom, I want more!" he complained half-seriously to the Warrior Princess. "Besides, you seemed to be intent to watch. I don't remember leaving tickets at the door!"  
  
Xena accessed the situation quickly. It would be most prudent to go along with him and try to get him to calm down in the process. "I figured you needed to get some frustration out of your system, and you seemed to be handling it," she shrugged. "But, Alti's still ahead."  
  
He smiled serenely, "Oh, yeah, I'm ready for that overbearing hag...after what she did to us! But first...." Concentrating, the Child returned back to his place, and suddenly, Dave was back in control again.  
  
"Wow!" he sighed, rubbing his head. "Any others left?"  
  
"No, I think we cleaned out all of the mummies in here," Gabrielle informed him.   
  
"Let's go. It should be getting very close to the appointed time by now," Xena asserted and took off towards the stairs with her friends right on her heels. One way or another, they had to stop that ceremony.  
  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Back in the sacrifice chamber, Alti arrived with a grim resolve. She sensed the outplay of emotions from the rescue party's two encounters with her mummy-soldiers and the efficiency with which the former had dealt with the latter. She thought about the emotions coming from O' Connell and Ardeth Bey. How she would relish tearing their minds apart! And to do it in front of the former's wife down here would be icing on the cake. However, Dubois' reaction had proved extremely interesting. His anger lit their progress to her like a beacon, yet somehow, he had managed to maintain that accursed compromise position between personalities. "That was my own carelessness!" she hissed self-critically, recalling how she allowed him to reclaim the darkness within him during their previous encounter in the American Southwest. Worse still, Xena, the blonde, and that so-called priestess were with him.  
  
She glanced around the chamber. Ten soldiers remained with her in addition to the five priests. "Best to leave them with me," she told herself and put on her antlered headdress.  
  
"You'll never get away with this!" Evy protested vehemently from the obsidian slab.  
  
The shamaness chuckled and allowed her eyes to sparkle intently on the captive librarian. "Ah, but I will, and by the time I'm finished, you, your husband, and the others will be dead."  
  
Evy struggled with the bonds tied tightly around her wrists, huffing heavily from the effort.  
  
Alti caressed the other woman's cheek, clearly relishing the other's emotion. "Ah, frustration! Keep struggling! You just make me stronger! Now, while you're doing that, I'm going to start on the bald one there! Once I have his power, I'll be invincible!"   
  
"You just keep thinking that, you Uncouth Savage. We'll find a way to stop you," the prisoner ranted.  
  
The witch growled in irritation. This yappy little wench didn't know when to shut up! Sighing angrily, she jerked Evy's head by her brown hair. "You call me a savage? You who desecrate the ancients in the name of your so-called civilized society?" Letting the other drink in this point, she continued, "Yes, I saw all of this in your husband's thoughts...."  
  
"At least, we reconstruct the tombs when we get the artifacts back to London!" Evy snapped. "You would leave them scattered for the vultures and grave robbers."  
  
To Alti, having this little snip dare to question her motives was grinding on her patience. "Let me show you why you should stop while you're ahead. You see, all of your previous lives are like an open book to me. Imagine what I could do to you." A knowing smile crossed her lips as fear started to well up within her prisoner. "You'll know more fear than that when I'm done with you!" she added, locking eyes with Evy.  
  
The other woman's eyes bulged wide open. Suddenly, she was back in Nefertiri's form fighting Anack-su-Namun at Seti's palace. Unlike the open duel in front of the court, this "lesson" was an exercise in brutality between the two women. Although careful to avoid scarring her opponent, the teacher delivered blow after blow to the young princess, bruising the latter and knocking her to the floor.....  
  
As Alti released her hair, Evy realized that she had been stuck in her past. However, despite the fact that the scene was only a distant memory from another life, her body was wracked with pain. Her breathing was labored as she blacked out.  
  
"Finally! Some peace and quiet with which to conduct the ceremony!" the witch cracked and motioned to her priests to bring Imhotep's body forward. After they had done so, she commanded, "Now, step back!"   
  
The others drew back, sensing the great power within this woman in front of them.  
  
The shamaness laughed triumphantly as she began her spirit dance. For a full twenty minutes, she twirled in time with the dark currents within the cosmos, invoking the black magic within this foreign land to her assistance. Swaying back and forth as if in some unfelt breeze, she pulled more and more evil energy toward her person. Finally, she held her hand toward the prone form of the dead high priest. A little ball of energy popped out of his chest, flew across the room, and slammed into her body. For a full minute, she writhed painfully even as she continued the dance.  
  
*********************************************  
  
While this was going on down on the floor of the chamber, the rescue party had reconvened on the upper entrance, at the head of the stone staircase descending to the action below.  
  
Rick glared down below and spurted, "What the Hell's going on down there? What is she doing?"  
  
Xena studied the scene carefully and explained, "She's doing a spirit dance and it looks like she just absorbed the power of the bald man down there."  
  
Ardeth swore in Arabic and then continued, "My apologies...the witch has absorbed the Creature's powers. Now, she will be invincible!"  
  
Gabrielle and Dave shot the bedouin chieftain confused stares before she added, "Who is this 'Creature' that you keep referring to?"  
  
"He's referring to the high priest, Imhotep," Rick commented intently, reloading his shotguns and pistols. "If she has his power, then we'll have a worse fight on our hands."  
  
"Alti's enough of a threat in her own right," the Warrior Princess acknowledged mindfully.   
  
"And with this extra charge, she'll be even more formidable," Cybelle noted. "We must move before she learns to marshall it."  
  
The former legionnaire turned to the medievalist and asked, "Hey, Robin Hood, how are your arrows holdin' up?"  
  
"Oh, I still have plenty of surprises for our friends, trust me..." Dave assured him. "How many of the bandage boys does she have with her?"  
  
Ardeth scanned the area beneath them, taking in the situation with minute detail before replying, "Ten soldiers and five priests. Who knows how many others there are?"  
  
"She would have already thrown them at us," Xena theorized. Looking at the battling bard and the medievalist, she continued, "We dealt with a pretty big reception committee on our way here...about 30 of those mummies."  
  
"And we fought eight of them ourselves," the priestess mentioned. "I think Xena's right. Besides, she knows this enemy the best of all of us."  
  
Rick happened to turn his eye toward the ceremony. Whatever that hag had planned for Evy wasn't going to happen if he had anything to say about it. Feeling the reassuring weight of the 22 gauge weapon in his arms, he set his jaw firmly. Then, he saw Alti starting to move towards the obsidian slab and Evy. "I don't think so!" he told himself. Taking aim, he fired off two shots toward the platform, both impacting at the shamaness's feet.  
  
"Who would dare?" she hissed malevolently.  
  
Evy raised her head toward the source of the shots. There, she recognized the chiseled features of her husband and knew that help was on the way. "Rick! Be careful!" she screamed.  
  
Alti spun to the remaining mummies in the area and commanded, "Deal with them!"  
  
The ancient followers hurried to do her bidding. Quickly, yet methodically, they made their way toward the intruders.  
  
********************************************  
  
"What did you do that for??" Dave bellowed.  
  
"Would you rather sit and watch? I'm here to save my wife, Pal!" Rick spat, sizing up the advancing group with his shotgun, and decapitating three attackers in succession.  
  
"Nice shooting, Two Gun," the professor complemented, readying his bow, and stringing an arrow with an unusual white tip on it. "By the way, you got a match?"   
  
"Sure," the adventurer agreed and recognized the wick coming out of the arrowhead as a fuse. "I take it you want a light?"  
  
"Knock yourself out," Dave nodded and watched as his new friend did just that. "Now, stand back!" With that warning, he shot the lit shaft into the teeth of Alti's minions and watched the explosion take out three more mummies and leave some sort of burning goop on two others.  
  
"Whoa! What is that stuff?" Rick wondered.  
"Ancient Greek secret," Xena deadpanned. "It's a derivative of Greek fire which he cooked up at home. Now, let's see what we can do to liven this party up a bit!" Taking her signature weapon from its clip at her side, she flung it toward the dais, impacting off of Alti's back, the chain on Evy's left wrist, the wall behind the slab and the bond on Evy's right wrist before returning to its mistress' hand.  
  
"Nice work," Ardeth complemented. "Now, let's deal with the witch!" Drawing his scimitar, he charged down the stairs.  
  
However, Alti sensed his approach, locked eyes with him, and ripped into his deepest fears. "Once I've touched you, I have you, Fool!" she hissed.  
  
The Arab chieftain gritted his teeth, refusing to give her the satisfaction of hearing him scream in pain.  
  
"Ardeth!" Xena yelled and jumped in the air intent on flipping down to the floor below.  
  
However, the shamaness grabbed her body out of space and flung it backward against the far stone wall. "You'll have to do better than that, Xena!" she laughed.  
  
Gabrielle ran to her friend's side and looked the warrior over. She didn't seem to be hurt too badly. In fact, she was already coming around. "Xena, are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah..." she grunted and sat up. A fierce pain was shooting up and down her back, but, beyond that, she was okay.   
  
Cybelle looked around to see that Dave, Rick, Gabrielle, and herself were all that remained of their sortie. "Let's get down there now!"  
  
"Stay with Xena!" Dave advised the bard, knowing that if anything happened to the Warrior Princess, it would befall his wife as well.  
  
"You be careful," Xena told him. "Don't do anything stupid."  
  
"Like charging at a woman who can provoke fear while having a personality who turns fear into anger? Who, me?" he joked, not letting his own doubts cloud his resolve.  
  
"Yeah, you," the Warrior grunted. "Well, if you're intent on making this suicidal charge. Get to it. We'll be down there in a couple of minutes."  
  
"Right," he agreed.  
  
"Let's go, Dave!" Cybelle told him, opening up a cloud portal and standing just inside of it. For his part, Rick was already inside.  
  
He nodded and, after stealing one last look at the two companions, dove through the vanishing portal, heading for the crisis below.  
  
To be continued. Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Dancing Before the Music Starts Conclusi...

Dancing Before the Music Starts  
By David J. Duncan  
July 2001  
  
For notes and such, please see Part 1  
  
Chapter 12  
  
With Alti occupied with the rescue party's incursion, Evy fussed with the chains at her feet. Despite her effort, she couldn't free herself. Looking around at the scene, something was changing. Everything blurred...and then, she saw another scene playing out in front of her. She was on a plateau overlooking Karnak and in the midst of a titanic struggle. Over to her left, she recognized Xena and Gabrielle fighting the shamaness.   
  
"Cleopatra!" a male voice bade. "I have her!"  
  
Evy (or was it Cleopatra?) faced the speaker. A dark-skinned man wrapped in black robes approached her. Along with him, an attractive brunette woman stumbled on the rocks along the face of the plateau. "Thank you, Antonius. Welcome, Eve," she heard herself say.  
  
Antonius nodded, allowing his face to come uncovered. In that moment, his face shifted to the familiar face of Ardeth Bey. Of course! If she was there, then why not him?  
  
The Messenger of Eli nodded gratefully, "Thank you, Cleopatra." Then, she stepped back to allow another man to enter the picture. He was garbed in white and his head hooded. For a second, his face was bearded and tanned by the intense desert sun. His face blurred and then, she saw Rick looking at her.   
  
"Is something the matter, my Love?" he asked.  
  
"No...no, Claudius," she indicated, somehow knowing his name. "Are we ready?"  
  
"Indeed? We must use the necklace now," Claudius/Rick urged.  
  
Evy/Cleopatra felt herself nod and hold up the golden necklace which she used in the tomb. The jewel caught the sunlight, creating a beam which shot out at Alti, putting her into a deep sleep. From there, the group took the shamaness to Thebes where they sealed her into the crypt......  
  
***************************************  
  
With that, she felt herself snap out of the reverie, just in time to see the mist collect in the chamber. "Where is that mist coming from?" she wondered.  
  
And then, from behind her, a voice advised, "Sit still!"  
  
She complied and, after two clanging noises, felt the chains fall away from her ankles. Turning toward the source of the voice, she recognized her savior immediately.   
  
Rick smiled at her warmly, tears falling freely from his eyes. He knew that the scene might ruin his image, but frankly, he didn't really care at the moment. "Thank you, Lord," he said to the sky. Then, he looked at his wife and said, "We have to get out of here. Dave and Cybelle are distracting Alti at the moment.  
  
"Rick, do you have the necklace?" Evy probed.  
  
Feeling around in his pockets, he initially shook his head, "No...I...wait a minute!" He reached down into his boot and pulled the golden neck ornament out. "Sorry," he shrugged. "It seemed like a good place at the time, especially after she grabbed you."  
  
"Give it to me, please," she demanded.  
  
He handed the jewelry to her, and she put it around her neck. The gold's weight felt comforting as if it should have been there all along. "Now, we need to deal with Alti!" she declared. "Help me up and let's hope your friends can keep her busy for a few more minutes!" Looking up at the ceiling, she saw the colors starting to appear in the sky. Dawn wasn't that far off...if they could stay alive that long.  
  
*******************************************  
  
On the other side of the misty barrier, Alti fumbled her way through the obscurity. Somewhere in this haze, her victims stood waiting for her. Then, she felt it. A feeling of lukewarm going cold. "Dubois, come out!" she challenged.  
  
"I'm right here," the professor snarled, stepping into her line of sight. His face was contorted in that grin and the right eye was once again closed. "Care to try your luck?"  
  
"I'll shred your mind once and for all!" she snarled, grabbing his right arm and flooding him with her morbid mental energy.  
  
He chuckled, "That tickles! Don't you know? Fear and anger make me stronger! You don't scare me, Witch!" Firing a mental blast, he sent the shamaness flying across the room and into the staircase.  
  
For once, Alti began to feel fear herself. The feeling intensified with the growling coming from the fog. She retreated up the stairs only to face two familiar foes: Xena and Gabrielle.  
  
"Well, well," the Warrior Princess challenged. "And where do you think you're going?" Leaping up in the air quickly, she pummeled her opponent over and over again with kicks before putting a solid shot to her adversary's midsection, throwing the shamaness to the floor.  
  
The witch started to rise only to find herself bound by vines. "What is this?" she complained and started to summon Imhotep's energy.  
  
Cybelle looked at the roof. The first light of dawn now squirmed its way into the chamber. Sensing that her handiwork was about to give way, she called, "Rick! Do it! Now!"  
  
At that moment, Alti released a powerful burst of energy, shredding the plant-bonds, and allowing her to climb to her feet. "I'm going to kill you slowly when I get my hands on you, Little Girl!" she vowed.  
  
"That will never happen," Evy's voice stated.  
  
The shamaness watched as her prisoner stepped out of the fog. However, her form shifted to that of...."No!" she screamed. "The accursed Cleopatra with that necklace! I'll kill you first!"  
  
Evy/Cleopatra calmly held the jewel up to the sunlight. As it had done two millennia earlier, it soaked up the solar energy and directed a beam at Alti.  
  
"Not again!" the besieged woman bellowed.  
  
Then, just as he had done in the past, Rick/Claudius steadied his lover while she performed this task.  
  
"Noooo!" she protested to no avail. Suddenly, the energy which she had stolen from Imhotep broke free and floated off into the sky. After that, she burst into flames, reducing her body to ash.  
  
"Good riddance!" Rick snarled. Looking at his wife, he asked, "Are you okay?"  
  
"Y...Yes, I think so. I had this strange experience. For a second there, we were at Karnak, putting that witch in the jar the first time. Amazing..." Evy stammered. "My name was Cleopatra, you were Claudius, and Ardeth was Antonius. I could have sworn I saw somebody in leather armor fighting Alti as well."  
  
"That would have been us," Gabrielle indicated, approaching the O' Connells through the rapidly dissipating ground cover. "I'm Gabrielle, but I think you know that."  
  
The librarian nodded slowly, "Right, and your friend with the dark hair...she's Xena, isn't she?"  
  
"That would be her," her husband indicated. "Surprise, she exists!"  
  
Evy shot him a sour glance. He had to rub it in, didn't he?  
  
"Not to worry," Xena laughed. "You did a nice job once again."  
  
"I did, didn't I?" Evy asked. "But without your help, it wouldn't have been possible."  
  
"This time, there's no body for her to return to. Still, I'm going to make sure this stays under guard," Dave stated, scooping up the shamaness's ashes and locking them in a small box. "Cybelle, do you have any confining chants?"  
  
The priestess nodded and sang a Celtic chant. Then, she assured her brother, "The box is sealed for all time. As before, only the jewel can open it."  
  
"Right. Evelyn, I'm going to suggest you keep the necklace here in Egypt," Xena planned. "Meantime, we'll take the ashes with us."  
  
"Who will be able to guard them?" Ardeth demanded.   
  
"We have a great curator at the university museum," Dave assured him. Then, he stared in the corner where Imhotep's body had been and asked, "Uh, Guys, where's your buddy's body?"  
  
"The Creature has disintegrated!" the Bedouin exclaimed. "Perhaps, he is finally dead."  
  
"I wouldn't bet on that," Rick affirmed. "Still, I'll feel better once we're back in Cairo."  
  
"Oh no, Alex! Jonathan! Lorenzo! Are they?" she worried.  
  
"They are fine, Dr. O' Connell," Cybelle assured her as she opened the fogbank again. "Perhaps you would like to see them?"  
  
"Yes I would," Evy affirmed. "So, when?"  
  
"Let's get to the truck. Once we're on the way, I know a shortcut...." the priestess explained.  
  
Rick agreed as they climbed the stone stairs and headed for the exit, "Trust her. She knows her shortcuts better than anyone."  
  
"If you say so, I'll be eager to get home and hold Alex in my arms!" Evy told him.  
  
Meantime, Xena looked at the chamber one last time. Alti had been so close to her goal and, once again, they had foiled her by the slimmest of margins.  
  
"What's up?" Dave probed.  
  
The Warrior Princess frowned, "Oh, nothing. I still feel like she's gonna come back again somehow. But that's silly, right?"  
  
The Bard shook her head, "We've seen stranger things happen, Xena."  
  
"Why do you think I'm taking all of these precautions?" Dave asked them. "I'm trying to keep her from doing an encore. Hopefully, Nick and Alyce will be able to figure something out."  
  
"Let's hope so," the warrior grimly concurred as they departed the battle scene and joined their comrades outside of the temple.  
  
  
  
Chapter 13  
  
Alex stalked out onto the terrace of the O' Connells' house. Ever since that strange lady had dropped them off here, he had brooded about being left behind.  
  
For his part, Lorenzo walked out to talk with him, "Hey, Alex? Are you okay?"  
  
The boy turned toward his mother's associate and sighed, "Yeah, Mr. Larry, I guess...I just wish that I could be helping Mum and Dad. I'm worried about them...."  
  
The archaeologist nodded, "We all are, Son. But, with their friends, I think they'll be okay."  
  
Alex looked up at his friend and hoped, "I know, but I wish that really scary guy wasn't with them. He frightens me."  
  
"Somehow, I think he's not as bad as that," Lorenzo surmised. Then, he noticed Jonathan sitting by himself in the living room, sipping on a cup of tea. The man hadn't budged from that position for the entire evening. Like his nephew, he wished that he could do more to help rescue his sister from that madwoman. Within him, his fear fought a fierce battle with responsibility and love, paralyzing him.  
  
Alex followed the other man's stare and shook his head, "Ever since the scary man shook him up, Uncle Jon hasn't been the same."  
  
"I think that's part of it, Alex," Lorenzo agreed. "I also think that he wishes he were there too."  
  
"That's true," the boy admitted. "But I hope they come home soon."  
  
"Me too. Me too," Lorenzo agreed. "Now, let's see what we can do for your uncle."  
  
With that, they walked back into the house.  
  
  
********************************  
  
The alley behind the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities in Cairo was usually deserted in the early morning hours save for a few stray dogs and cats. However, on this particular day, a mist began to form in that narrow area. After a few minutes, the alley was filled by the obscuring fog. Five minutes after that, the O'Connells' truck rumbled out of the fog, through the alley, and out onto the street next to the museum.  
  
"I...I don't believe it!" Evy stammered. "It's true!"  
  
"I told you," Rick shrugged. "She's got a real talent for it."  
  
"We should be at the Museum," Cybelle indicated. "How far are we from your home?"  
  
"Right around the corner actually," Evy replied. "Well, we should be getting back there."  
  
"And we need to be doing the same," Dave agreed. "We left an elderly man by himself and should be getting back to him. But, can you do us a favor?"  
  
"Name it," Rick agreed.  
  
"First, when you see Lorenzo, give him our regards," Dave requested.  
  
"Absolutely," the British Museum curator stated. Then, she added, "A question for you too if I may?"  
  
"Sure," Xena nodded.  
  
"Why are you taking the box with the ashes with you? That would make a great display," she inquired.  
  
Xena and Dave looked at each other momentarily before he asked, "Umm, let's see, if history serves me right, each artifact you uncover does something, right? Rick's key uncovered Imhotep. The Anubis bracelet brought the Scorpion King back to life. And the crystal in that necklace revived Alti. Aren't you the one who used all three of those keys at one point or another?"  
  
Evelyn looked at the questioner with an aghast expression, "Well, I never...!"  
  
"Actually, Dear," Rick indicated. "He's right. That would be you."  
  
She shook her head and backed away from him abruptly.  
  
"Sorry about that," the adventurer apologized. "She does get a bit tempermental when she's being corrected like that." A slight grin crossed his face. "But, I'm curious. How did you know all of that stuff? It's almost like....nah...that's crazy."  
  
"What?" Gabrielle asked. "What is it?"  
  
"I was going to say that you have to be from the future. But, that's nuts," Rick snickered.  
  
Once again, the warrior and the medievalist exchanged looks. Best to let him think that way for now.  
  
"Yeah, it's nuts. Well, our best to everyone," Xena agreed, shaking hands with Rick. "Ardeth."  
  
"Once again, my friends, it was a honor to fight alongside you," the bedouin acknowledged and gave them the Islamic salute of peace and good fortune. "May Allah always bless you."  
  
"And you," Dave smiled. "Thank you, Rick, for your help. And, Evelyn, my apologies. Take care of the necklace, okay?"  
  
"I will," Evy sighed and managed a little smile. She understood that the professor was only making a point to her.   
  
"You're welcome," Rick stated. "You're something else in a fight. Hopefully, we'll run into each other again."  
  
"If you're ever in Tucson, look us up," Dave invited.  
  
"And, one last thing, " Xena added. "A young woman named Angela says hello."  
  
"Angela? I don't know any Angela," Rick puzzled aloud, glancing at his wife.  
  
Evy shrugged, "I don't either." She studied their new allies again. For some reason, she agreed with Rick. While he was joking, she wondered if there was something to it. This would bear some thought. Until the right opportunity came, if it ever did, she vowed to keep her silence.  
  
"You will," Dave snickered as he stepped back into the mist. "You will."   
  
The Warrior Princess took one last look at the O' Connells before she stepped through. At least, she allowed Angie to look upon her great-grandparents again. Gabrielle followed closely behind.  
  
Cybelle smiled and wished them pleasant journeys before stepping inside the smoke and sealing the portal behind her.  
  
For a long minute, Rick, Ardeth, and Evy stared at the spot where their allies had been. Their minds were flooded with questions. But then, they decided that some things were better left undiscovered.  
  
"We'd best check on Jonathan and your son," Ardeth remarked.  
  
"You're on," Rick stated. "How would you like some breakfast?"  
  
"I would be delighted. Come!" the bedouin concurred as the three friends walked off into the morning lit streets, looking for the way home and preparing for their next adventure.  
  
  
Chapter 14  
  
(Tucson, 1997)  
  
Alex O' Connell stared out the window of the downtown loft. He had been brought here after his granddaughter, her husband, and his cousin had disappeared earlier this afternoon. Where did they go? And what was going on? He sat in the corner of the room, mulling the mystery and drinking his tea.  
  
***********************************  
  
Across the room, Nick Miles observed his guest. The 790 year old vampire-detective was just as taken aback initially by Natalie's and Schanke's request that he watch the elderly archaeologist. Of course, once his guest's identity had been determined, the two had gotten along splendidly, spending most of the afternoon talking about Egyptology and the like.   
  
Walking over to the oak cabinet in the far corner of the room, he opened it and discovered a particular picture taken in the early 1940s. In it, Nick saw himself standing with Rick and Evelyn O' Connell, a blond, strapping teenaged youth, and another man...a professor of Celtic and Egyptian antiquities as he recalled. "I don't believe it!" he mused to himself. Turning to the old man, he saw the familiar glimmer in the blue eyes and the features, despite their age, were stunningly similar. Somehow, Alex had found his way back to his friend's side. And, his other friend, Lorenzo Alvaro, the boy he had saved along the roadside, had been associated with that party as well. And to think, those two men were the grandparents of his friends, Dave and Angie. "It is truly a small world," he laughed, while putting the picture away and rejoining his guest.  
  
********************************************  
  
Meanwhile, Eve and Natalie nervously stared out the window of the Duboises' apartment and waited for their friends to come back. Between Dave's jitters and his sudden disappearance not to mention Angie and Francesca, both women were extremely nervous.  
  
"I hope they are all right," Eve hoped, bouncing Deirdre on her knee.   
  
"I know," Natalie sighed, shaking her head. "They took off so abruptly. No warning or anything."  
  
"And yet, mysteriously, David's classes were covered," the Messenger wondered. "Almost as if...."  
  
"As if there was divine intervention, perhaps?" a familiar voice asked.  
  
The coroner and the messenger both turned to their left. There, Michael stood smiling.  
  
"Yes, Eve. All was taken care of in the manner that you suspect," he explained.  
  
"Excuse me, who?" Natalie broke in.  
  
"This is the Archangel Michael, Natalie," Eve introduced before asking the newcomer. "I trust that you and Raphael are behind the disappearance of our friends?"   
  
"We told them of the situation. After that, they and Cybelle travelled back to Egypt to fix the situation. Alti broke loose from her prison," the angel recounted.  
  
Having at various times been exposed to the witch's not-so-tender mercies, both women shuddered.   
  
"And did they...?" Eve probed.  
  
"Yes, they did defeat her. As for the rest...," Michael continued, noticing the cloud forming behind him. "I'll let them tell you." He stepped back to allow the portal to fully form. Within seconds, Dave, Xena, and Gabrielle entered the room followed by Cybelle.  
  
"Oh, Mother! Gabrielle!" Eve exclaimed and hugged her two companions.  
  
"Now, this is the type of homecoming I like," Xena smiled warmly and tightly held her daughter.  
  
"So, where did you go?" Natalie pressed. "You know Schank and I were pretty scared when the three of you just up and vanished like that."  
  
"We had an emergency," Dave replied. "Besides, in my situation, I wasn't going to risk giving anything else away to Grandfather O' Connell."  
  
The coroner and the messenger looked at him curiously, "Give what away?"  
  
"His parents are Rick and Evelyn O' Connell. And her father is Lord Carnahan," he continued.  
  
"You mean the explorer that...?" Natalie realized. "And Evelyn is the same person who discovered Imhotep's tomb and....?"  
  
"Right," Xena grinned. "She also accidentally released Alti. That's what the emergency was."   
  
"I thought that only the necklace could do that," Eve surmised.  
  
"That's apparently how she did it," Gabrielle noted. "And that's how she defeated Alti."  
  
"But only one of the royal line of the Pharoahs could...," the Messenger started and had a sudden thought. "Does that mean that she was tied to Cleopatra?"  
  
"Right," Xena nodded and turned to the Bard. "Did Rick and Ardeth Bey look familiar to you as well?"  
  
"You mean Claudius and Antonius? Xena, that's incredible! Why didn't I see it?" the Potadeian warrior-bard wondered. "But the way they fought. It was as if...."  
  
"They had fought her before and at our side," the Warrior Princess nodded. Then, turning to Dave, she cracked, "You weren't too bad yourself, you know. Taking out all of those mummies and not letting His Attitude get out...well not that badly. And, especially in Alti's presence, good work."  
  
"Thanks," he accepted and turned to the angel, "Michael, it's all set."  
  
"And you have the box?" the archangel inquired.  
  
Dave produced the small chest and held it up for all to see. "Here are her ashes."  
  
"And I put a sealing spell on it to make sure of it. Once again, only the necklace can open it," the priestess added.  
  
"I have arranged for a friend of yours to stop by," Michael added. "The university curator, I believe? Well, I must go. Raphael is coming. He has some people for you to meet." Having said his peace, the blond angel disappeared in a flash of light.  
  
"That was incredible!" Natalie gaped. "That was actually the archangel Michael."  
  
"Yeah, it was," Xena shrugged. "I wonder who Raphael's going to have with him?"  
  
"Probably some long lost reception committee," Cybelle guessed and started to form another portal. "I gotta run. Matt's probably ready to declare me lost..."  
  
At that moment, a bright light on the other side of the room signalled the arrival of Raphael and four hooded figures.  
  
"Raphael," Gabrielle greeted. "It is good to see you."  
  
"And you," the black haired angel replied. "You as well, Xena and David. I have brought you some visitors."  
  
"Now what?" Dave hissed, ready for anything.  
  
Eve shook her head and advised, "David, I don't sense any malice in them. Raphael wouldn't intentionally lead any harmful people here."  
  
"Indeed," Raphael agreed.   
  
"Besides," one of the cloaked figures noted cheerfully. "I wouldn't want to get you ticked off, Robin Hood."  
  
Dave took a step back and ventured, "Rick? Is that?"  
  
"None other," the deceased adventurer smiled, revealing his face. The others did so as well revealing themselves as Evy, Ardeth, and Lorenzo.  
  
"So, this is where you are from," she chuckled. "I suspected as much. Really, Dr. Dubois, why didn't you just come out and tell us?"  
  
"And risk disrupting the time continuum?" Lorenzo chided. "Really now, Evelyn. Now that I've set you straight on everything, we should be fine."  
  
"I suppose so," the deceased curator admitted.   
  
Ardeth jumped in and asked. "Pardon me, but do you have Alti's remains?"  
  
Xena patted the box. "Right here...and it's going in a very secure place. Did you secure the key?"  
  
"Yes, it's under guard in Cairo," Rick added. He took a look around and complemented, "Nice place."  
  
"Thanks," Dave accepted. "Angie and I think so."  
  
Evy turned to the other academic and inquired, "That's the second time you mentioned this 'Angie'. When do we get to meet her?"  
  
Everyone in the room turned to look at Xena who shrugged and stated, "You already have. Well, kind of...watch." Sheathing the sword, she concentrated. A bright flash concealed her form and then, Angie stood in her place.  
  
"I'm Angie," the oncologist explained. "I'm Jennifer's daughter."  
  
"You mean little Jenny, our granddaughter?" Evy gasped. "I say! Rick, she's our great-granddaughter!"  
  
"Unbelievable," Rick shook his head and moved closer to his descendant. "Well, thank you. Somehow, I knew we were in good hands."  
  
Lorenzo smiled proudly, "Now, I suppose you wish to see our grandchildren? Follow me."  
  
As the three spirits entered the room, they glimpsed the two nine year olds intently studying their books.   
  
"The one on the left is Karen. Her sister is Lauren. And they're both really smart and precocious. But, they're such good girls," he beamed.  
  
"And who's the toddler out there?" Rick asked.  
  
"That's Deirdre, their sister. Believe me, these girls are all going to be something else one day," the Florentine predicted.  
  
"I'm sure," Evy agreed and moved closer to them to get a better look.  
  
At that moment, the twins looked up and chorused, "And who might you be?"  
  
Evy stepped back, "They can...."  
  
"Sense us?" their colleague cracked. "Yes, they can. Hi, Girls. Don't let us disturb you."  
  
Karen furrowed her brow and wondered, "Great-Grandpa?"  
  
"That's right," Lorenzo agreed. "How did you know?"  
  
"Daddy always talks about you," Lauren added, a smile coming to her face. "And I was named after you."  
  
"Yes, you were. Now, Girls, I want you to meet your mother's great-grandparents. This is your Great, Great-Grandpa and Great, Great-Grandma O' Connell," the spirit introduced his peers.  
  
"Hi!" Karen smiled.  
  
"Glad to meet you!" Lauren added enthusiastically.  
  
Rick's eyes shined on Evy. Despite all of their close calls, they had established a wonderful family. With their love, they had planted the seed which had sprouted into future generations.  
  
For her part, Evy stooped down next to her descendants and grinned broadly. They were beautiful as was their mother. Yes, these two twins would be fine scholars and, with their abilities, would be formidable in their own right. She managed to put her arms around the girls in a suitable imitation of a hug.  
  
"Now, you can see why I'm so proud of them," Lorenzo revealed.  
  
"Yes, I can," Rick concurred. "Who would've guessed?"  
  
"It is funny how fate works," Lorenzo agreed. "Now, as much as I would like to stay, our time grows short." He bent over one last time and kissed the sisters on the forehead. "Buona Nochte," he wished them.  
  
Rick and Evy tarried a moment longer, watching the twins. Then, they followed their friend into the living room.  
  
"They are beautiful!" Evy complemented. "As are you, Angela."  
  
Angie's eyes teared up as she tried to embrace her great-grandmother, "Thank you. I wish that Momma could be here. She would love to see you both again. Will you be seeing Grandpa Alex?"  
  
"Unfortunately," Rick sighed. "Not on this trip. But with Nicholas, I'm sure he's in good hands."  
  
"You both know Nick?" Natalie gaped. It seemed that there were no end to the surprises!   
  
Ardeth nodded, "Indeed we do. We met on an expedition to the southern Sahara in 1942. Quite an unusual man, but a wonderful friend to have."  
  
"Then, there was the creep who hung around him, La Something," Rick added.  
  
"LaCroix," Natalie affirmed. "Yes, he's here, unfortunately. Sorry, Eve."  
  
"No, that's fine. Given his attitude, it is unfortunate. Someday, with Eli's blessing, I may be able to help him, but for now, I cannot...." the Messenger replied pleasantly.  
  
At that moment, Raphael cleared his throat and announced, "It is time."  
  
"Well, once again, thank you," Rick expressed to the group.  
  
"Thank you for saving me and helping us," Evy added. "Take care of the girls!"  
  
"And keep your chins up," Lorenzo advised, his eyes twinkling warmly toward his grandchildren and niece, Francesca.  
  
The deceased chieftain bowed respectfully.  
  
With that, they vanished from sight back to Heaven.  
  
"Thank you," Dave expressed to the archangel.  
  
"It was our pleasure," Raphael replied gladly. "They had questions after you left, and we knew that you deserved a reward for your good deed. Be well!" Having said that, he faded away as well.  
  
Angie hugged her husband tightly and sighed, "After all of that, what an experience!"  
  
"I would say so," Dave agreed, kissing her on the cheek. "But seeing the grandfolks is always worth it."  
  
"Yes, but there's still the box...." she indicated.  
  
"We'll worry about that tomorrow. Let's enjoy the evening and another job well done," he assured her.  
  
She yawned and nodded. It had been another wonderful adventure for them. In the process, they had helped to keep the world safe and found out more about themselves and their families. All in all, a good day's work.  
  
THE END (for now)  
  
  
(I hope that you enjoyed the piece! Look for Part 3, "Aftershocks" soon. Part 1 "Protecting One's Own" will be available soon as well!)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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